Owensboro, KY Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Owensboro Municipal Code § 5-137(b)(4) addresses compost piles directly within the city's public-nuisance list. The ordinance doesn't require a permit or set size, material, or bin-type rules for composting in the City of Owensboro; instead, it flags a compost pile as a nuisance only if it is of such a nature as to spread or harbor disease, emit unreasonable, unpleasant odors or harmful gas, or attract rodents, vermin or other disease-carrying pests, animals or insects, and it expressly carves out an exception stating that the presence of earthworms in a compost pile shall not constitute a nuisance.

Because the compost rule is enforced through the same property maintenance nuisance framework as junk, rubbish, and dilapidated structures, a compost complaint follows the same process: a code enforcement officer investigates, may first issue a notice of violation giving the resident time to fix the pile's odor or pest problem without a fine, and only escalates to a citation if the condition isn't corrected. The rule sits alongside the separate Nauseous Substances or Odors nuisance category (§ 5-137(b)(5)) and the rodent-focused Rubbish nuisance (§ 5-137(b)(18)), so an unmanaged compost pile could potentially be cited under more than one nuisance clause depending on what a code enforcement officer observes on inspection.