Oak Park, IL Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Village Code section 20-7-1 defines a 'compost pile' as a portion of a property set aside to encourage rapid decomposition of yard and vegetable waste into compost, and requires that the pile 'show signs of active management' rather than serve as a place to simply store or dump waste. Compost is defined as the resulting humus used for fertilizing and conditioning soil, made from materials such as yard waste and compostable kitchen waste, which itself covers organic waste from growing, handling, preparing, cooking or consuming food, including vegetable waste, coffee grounds, eggshells and grain-based products, but excludes animal waste and food cooked in animal products like lard, meat or cheese.

Section 20-7-2 permits residents to use yard and compostable kitchen waste in a compost pile in lieu of curbside disposal, but expressly prohibits garbage, other than vegetable waste, and untreated animal excreta as compost ingredients. Every compost pile must be aerated on a regular basis to avoid the anaerobic conditions that draw rodents and insects and create noxious or offensive odors. A pile that is not created or tended consistently with these standards can be declared a public nuisance under the Village's nuisance provisions, exposing the property owner to abatement action and prosecution.

The Village also separately defines 'in vessel' composting, meaning composting conducted entirely inside a fully enclosed container with no opening wider than one-quarter inch, and 'vermicomposting,' the use of red wiggler worms to process food waste into soil, though neither term carries its own numeric standard beyond the general aeration and ingredient rules.