Monterey, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Tucked into the collection regulations of Chapter 14, § 14-3(3) allows small amounts of yard waste to be kept as a small pile or compost heap out of general public view, rather than requiring every clipping to go into the organic materials container. The code sets no cubic-yard cap, bin specification or permit requirement for a pile at that residential scale; the only stated conditions are that the amount stay small and that the pile stay out of sight from the street. The companion nuisance clause in § 14-3(4) requires that solid waste, which by definition would include a pile that grows beyond a small, well-managed heap, not create odor, vector, or litter impacts on the community or a public or private nuisance.

That contrasts with a 'community composting' operation as defined in § 14-1, a larger-scale activity capped at 100 cubic yards and 750 square feet of feedstock and compost on site under 14 CCR § 17855(a)(4), whose operator must supply the City with capacity information on request under § 14-4(2)(b). 'Yard waste' itself is defined in § 14-1 as organic waste from normal yard and landscaping installation, maintenance or removal, tying the backyard-pile allowance directly to routine landscaping debris rather than food scraps or other organic material.