Plymouth, MN Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

22 sits in Chapter VI's public health chapter and sets the standard for composting yard waste or organic waste on private and institutional property in Plymouth. Subdivision 1 limits where composting is allowed at all, to single-family detached dwellings, businesses, educational facilities, institutional or non-profit uses, and property the City itself operates as an essential service, and requires the practice be done in an environmentally sound manner. Subdivision 2 sets the physical standard for the bin: it must be a single structure built of durable material, rot-resistant wood, block, approved metal fencing, or a commercially fabricated compost bin, no smaller than three feet by three feet by three feet unless it is a manufactured commercial product, capped at 32 square feet in area and three feet in height, with no single dimension exceeding eight feet; the City can approve an additional shared structure for neighboring properties.

Subdivision 3 fixes where the bin can sit: at least 40 feet from any inhabited building the composter does not own, at least six feet from any City park or trail, and otherwise wherever the Zoning Ordinance allows accessory structures. Subdivision 4 limits feedstock to acceptable materials generated on the same site, such as grass clippings, leaves, weeds, small twigs a quarter inch or less in diameter, evergreen cones and needles, wood chips, raw fruit and vegetable scraps, herbaceous garden debris, and decomposition-speeding additives. Subdivision 5 requires aeration, added moisture and a balanced mix so the pile degrades without objectionable odors.