New Britain, CT Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)
Key Facts
- Composting status
- Allowed if performed sanitarily
- Governing section
- Code of Ordinances § 11-10(c)
- Bin/permit standard
- None set in the code
- Nuisance trigger
- Unwholesome, offensive or insanitary pile
- General penalty
- $150 fine, per-day violation
- Alternative disposal
- Residential recycling center, Berlin
Summary
New Britain's nuisance ordinance bars accumulating rubbish or offensive waste on any property, but section 11-10(c) of the Code of Ordinances expressly carves out an exception: the section "shall not be construed to prohibit composting performed in a sanitary manner," and the city sets no separate permit or bin standard for it.
Whenever in this Code or any other ordinance of the city ... where no specific penalty is provided, the violation ... shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). Each day any such violation shall continue shall constitute a separate offense. ... (a)No owner, tenant or occupant of any premises and no other person shall cause or permit the accumulation, or place upon any street or sidewalk, in any building, outhouse, yard or enclosure any dung, filth ... or rubbish of any kind which shall become unwholesome, offensive, or shall endanger the health or well-being of any person. ... (c)No person shall deposit or cause to be deposited on his own land or land of another or shall permit to remain on his own land or land in his custody or under his care any refuse or other substances which shall be or cause a nuisance or which is insanitary or unsightly. Such refuse or substances may be deposited at the residential recycling center, supervised by the department of public works. This section shall not be construed to prohibit composting performed in a sanitary manner.
Full Breakdown
Section 11-10, titled Accumulation of refuse, is New Britain's general nuisance provision for waste. Subsection (a) prohibits any owner, tenant or occupant from causing or permitting the accumulation of dung, filth, decaying vegetables or meat, dead animals, dirty water, brine or any other rubbish that becomes unwholesome, offensive or a danger to health on a street, sidewalk, building, yard or enclosure. Subsection (c) extends that same prohibition to a person's own land, barring refuse or substances that become a nuisance or are insanitary or unsightly, and directs that such material may instead be taken to the city's residential recycling center at 642 Christian Lane in Berlin, supervised by the department of public works.
The same subsection then draws the line for composting: it states plainly that the section "shall not be construed to prohibit composting performed in a sanitary manner." The Code of Ordinances sets no separate bin design, setback, size limit or permit requirement for residential composting elsewhere in Chapter 11 or Chapter 12, Health; the only rule on the books is this exemption from the nuisance provision, meaning a compost pile or bin is lawful in New Britain so long as it does not become the kind of unwholesome, offensive or insanitary accumulation subsection (a) and (c) otherwise forbid.
Violations & Fines
Composting itself carries no penalty as long as it stays sanitary. If a compost pile becomes the kind of unwholesome, offensive or insanitary accumulation subsection (a) or (c) describes, it falls back under the general nuisance prohibition of section 11-10 and, absent a specific fine there, the citywide general penalty of section 1-15 applies: up to one hundred fifty dollars, with each day the nuisance continues counted as a new offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is backyard composting legal in New Britain?
Does New Britain require a permit or specific bin for composting?
When could a compost pile become illegal in New Britain?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Britain
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