Marin County, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Marin County Code § 7.04.050
- Exemption
- Own-property garden trimmings for compost
- No permit needed
- For composting, unlike general dumping
- Limit
- Must not create nuisance or health hazard
- Adopted
- Ordinance 692 (1954)
Summary
Marin County Code § 7.04.050 exempts homeowners from the county's dump-permit law when they pile up their own garden, tree, shrub and lawn trimmings on their own property to make compost. The same section still requires an authorized-dump permit for hauling other garbage, rubbish or refuse off-site.
No person shall dump, bury, deposit, or otherwise dispose of any garbage, rubbish or refuse except at an authorized garbage, rubbish or refuse dump for which a permit has been obtained as required by Section 7.04.020. This section shall not apply to brickbats, cement, plaster, stones, gravel and other similar building materials commonly disposed of at building sites; provided, however, that this chapter shall not apply to the accumulation by any person upon his own property of garden, tree, shrub and lawn trimmings for garden compost purposes, nor to the disposal by proper burying or burning of garbage by a householder or tenant on his property so long as this disposal practice does not create a public health problem or create a public or private nuisance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 2026 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
020. 050 carves out two narrow exceptions to that permit requirement. ' In plain terms, a Marin County property owner can pile grass clippings, leaves, branches and other yard trimmings on their own land to make compost without needing the dump permit that would otherwise apply to disposing of that material. 08. 060(G).
Violations & Fines
Composting yard trimmings on your own property under § 7.04.050 carries no permit fee or citation risk by itself. But if the compost pile turns into a public health problem or a public or private nuisance, the county can enforce it as a nuisance or, if it amounts to unauthorized dumping outside the exemption, refer it to the general dump-permit penalty provisions of Chapter 7.04.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to compost yard waste at home in unincorporated Marin County?
Can I burn or bury my yard waste instead of composting it?
Is there a limit on how big my compost pile can get?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Marin County
California rules heatmap·Compare Marin County to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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