Ventura County, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)
Key Facts
- Backyard composting
- Allowed and encouraged
- State mandate
- SB 1383 organic-waste recycling
- County ordinance
- No. 4590 (approved Dec. 7, 2021)
- Curbside organics start
- January 1, 2022 (unincorporated)
- Accepted organics
- Food scraps, yard/wood waste, food-soiled paper
- Haulers
- Athens Services; E.J. Harrison & Sons
Summary
Backyard composting is allowed and encouraged in unincorporated Ventura County. Under SB 1383, the County requires residents and businesses to participate in organic-waste recycling, with curbside organics collection in unincorporated areas effective January 1, 2022. Free compost and mulch are available to residents.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Short-lived climate pollutants, such as black carbon, fluorinated gases, and methane, are powerful climate forcers that have a dramatic and detrimental effect on air quality, public health, and climate change.
(2) These pollutants create a warming influence on the climate that is many times more potent than that of carbon dioxide.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to support the adoption of policies that improve organics recycling and innovative, cost effective, and environmentally beneficial uses of biomethane derived from solid waste facilities. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The organic disposal reduction targets are essential to achieving the statewide recycling goal identified in Section 41780.01.
(b) Achieving organic waste disposal reduction targets requires significant investment to develop organics recycling capacity.
(c) More robust state and local funding mechanisms are needed to support the expansion of organics recycling capacity. This chapter shall not limit the authority of a local jurisdiction to adopt, implement, or enforce requirements in addition to those set forth in the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
Full Breakdown
Home composting is permitted and encouraged for unincorporated Ventura County residents, who can turn kitchen scraps and yard trimmings into a soil amendment for their gardens. At the same time, California's Senate Bill (SB) 1383 mandates organic-waste diversion to cut methane, and the County implements it through Public Works (Watershed Protection / Integrated Waste Management). Ventura County Ordinance No. 4590, approved December 7, 2021, regulates solid-waste collection and recycling in the unincorporated areas to carry out these state requirements. Curbside organics collection for unincorporated residents became effective January 1, 2022, covering food scraps, yard/green waste, non-hazardous wood waste, and food-soiled paper.
J. Harrison & Sons provide collection in unincorporated areas, and residents may request free indoor kitchen food-scrap pails as well as free compost and mulch. Commercial generators, including multifamily complexes with five or more units, must arrange organic-waste collection unless they qualify for a waiver or register as self-haulers. Backyard composting is promoted as a way to reduce waste, but the County's published SB 1383 materials do not treat home composting as a blanket exemption from the mandatory collection service. Residents who compost at home should keep their organics cart available for materials they cannot compost themselves and follow Public Works guidance.
Violations & Fines
SB 1383 organic-waste requirements are enforced under Ventura County Ordinance No. 4590; businesses and residents that fail to subscribe to or properly use organics collection can face enforcement. Backyard composting itself is encouraged and not penalized when done properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I compost in my backyard in unincorporated Ventura County?
Do I still need organics collection if I compost at home?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ventura County
California rules heatmap·Compare Ventura County to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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