Modesto, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Stanislaus County does not regulate ordinary backyard composting of a household's own yard and food scraps. The Zoning Ordinance addresses composting only as a land use: commercial or municipal composting, processing or spreading of organic matter where the material is not generated on site and the activity is not a routine farming practice is a regulated use, expressly distinguished from on-site composting and use of fertilizers and soil amendments (Title 21). A backyard compost bin using materials generated on the property is therefore outside that land-use rule and is permitted. The dominant requirement for residents comes from state law. California Senate Bill 1383 (the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Reduction Act), whose CalRecycle regulations took effect January 1, 2022, requires every California jurisdiction to provide organic-waste collection to residents and businesses and obligates generators to keep organic waste (food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard/green waste) out of the landfill. Residents typically comply by using the green organics cart provided through their waste hauler, and home composting of yard and food waste is an accepted way to reduce organics sent to disposal. Compost piles must still avoid becoming a nuisance: vector-attracting, odorous, or rodent-harboring conditions can be cited under the County's general nuisance and property-maintenance rules. Large-scale composting, or composting of imported (off-site) material, requires land-use review and state composting permits. For most homeowners, a tidy backyard compost system is both allowed and consistent with SB 1383 goals.