Meriden, CT Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Meriden's zoning code does not contain a general residential composting ordinance; the only quotable composting standard sits inside the accessory poultry-keeping conditions at § 213-16C(5), which governs backyard chickens and turkeys in the R-R, S-R and R-1 districts. Subsection (e), 'Food and waste,' requires that feed be stored in watertight, rodent-proof containers and that manure and bedding waste from the coop either be hauled offsite entirely or composted on the property no closer than 50 feet from any property line, whichever the owner chooses. This 50-foot buffer is separate from, and larger than, the coop's own 10-foot property-line setback and the enclosure's five-, 15- or 25-foot setbacks under § 213-16C(5)(d), reflecting the code's focus on keeping decomposing waste and its odor away from neighboring lots rather than the birds themselves.

Because the rule is folded into the poultry-keeping permit conditions, it is enforced by the same zoning permit review the Building Department conducts before a flock is approved and by the Zoning Enforcement Officer afterward; it does not apply to household food-scrap composting unconnected to keeping poultry, which the code does not separately regulate.