Colusa County, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Backyard composting is expressly permitted in unincorporated Colusa County. Chapter 32 of the County Code (Solid Waste, Ord. No. 452 as amended by Ord. No. 790), Section 32 subsection (e), provides that 'composting on a noncommercial, individual homeowner basis shall be accomplished in a nuisance-free, vector-free manner,' that household garbage must be handled so breeding and harborage areas are eliminated, and that the operation 'shall include only those garbage wastes generated from the person's own domestic residence' (other garbage wastes are prohibited). Chapter 32 also defines 'yard waste' as lawn clippings, weeds, brush, branches, stumps, dirt, or rocks, and requires manure storage not to create a nuisance. The zoning code separately defines and regulates commercial 'composting facilities' as a distinct land use (with definitions drawn from California Code of Regulations Title 14). On top of the county rules, California's SB 1383 requires jurisdictions to divert organic waste (food scraps, yard waste, soiled paper) from landfills; in unincorporated Colusa County, curbside garbage and organics service is contracted through Recology Butte Colusa Counties. Home composting is a recognized way for residents to manage organics on-site under SB 1383. The cities of Colusa and Williams administer their own programs.