Rochester, NY Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Under § 20-15(H) of the Refuse Code, 'backyard composting of leaves is authorized by the Department,' meaning Rochester treats composting as the residents' own alternative to the municipal collection system rather than requiring a permit or a specific bin design. Homeowners who choose not to compost may set loose leaves in piles between the sidewalk and the curb, or alongside the roadway where there is no sidewalk, but only during a single annual window the Department sets each year between October 15 and November 30.

Outside that six-week collection period, uncomposted leaves must be bagged or bundled: the Code requires they be placed in alternate containers or securely tied plastic bags rather than left loose at the curb. The same section handles grass: under § 20-15(G), lawn cuttings and trimmings that residents do not compost may be placed in a City-issued container, an alternate container, or a plastic bag along with the rest of the household's residential refuse, and are then collected on the normal weekly schedule. Because Rochester provides no separate yard-waste cart or drop-off site for leaves and clippings outside the fall leaf-collection window, backyard composting is effectively the only way to keep large volumes of yard debris out of the weekly refuse container limit.

The Commissioner of Environmental Services administers the program and can revoke residents' ability to use plastic bags for refuse where safety and health conditions warrant, under § 20-12(F). Loose piles left at the curb outside the authorized fall window, or yard waste stored so it becomes a health hazard, fall under the general refuse-storage nuisance provision at § 20-14, which the Commissioner can abate at the owner's cost.