Manchester, CT Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Code of Ordinances § 242-19E states plainly: "Compost must be kept in an enclosure or bin not to exceed a footprint of 150 square feet or be more than 4 1/2 feet tall, and located to the rear of the dwelling." This sits inside the same section governing rubbish and garbage, § 242-19, whose Subsection A otherwise requires every exterior property to be free from any accumulation of rubbish or garbage; the compost bin standard operates as the carve-out that lets residents maintain an outdoor pile without it being treated as a prohibited rubbish accumulation, so long as the footprint, height and rear-yard placement limits are respected.

Section 242-19D, the immediately preceding recycling provision, similarly clarifies that materials kept for an approved waste-recovery program do not themselves violate § 242-19, reinforcing that the chapter's exemptions for compost and recycling are narrow and tied to the specific size, placement and container standards it sets, not a blanket allowance for any backyard pile. Because § 242-19 sits under Article II, Exterior Property Areas, of Chapter 242 Property Maintenance, the rule applies town-wide to occupied residential property regardless of whether the resident owns or rents, and enforcement runs through the same code official and Blight Enforcement Officer structure that oversees the rest of the chapter's exterior-area standards, including the accumulation and drainage rules that surround it in §§ 242-16 and 242-19.