Scottsdale, AZ Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)
Key Facts
- Lawful disposal methods
- Bagged pickup or composting
- Required frequency
- As often as necessary to prevent nuisance
- Composting defined at
- § 24-2
- Small pet waste
- Bagged in solid waste container
- Livestock/horse waste
- Must be dry and contained
- Commercial manure container rate
- 2x standard commercial refuse rate
Summary
Scottsdale's code allows composting as one lawful way to dispose of animal waste from pens, stables, yards and cages, as long as it happens often enough to prevent a nuisance or health hazard. The code defines composting narrowly as a controlled condition where organic material decomposes and stabilizes.
(3)All animal wastes shall be removed from pens, stables, yards, cages and other enclosures and disposed of in the prescribed manner or by composting as often as necessary to prevent occurrence of a public nuisance or health hazard.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
Section 24-16(e)(3) requires that all animal wastes be removed from pens, stables, yards, cages and other enclosures and disposed of either in the prescribed manner or by composting, as often as necessary to prevent a public nuisance or health hazard. The code doesn't set a separate residential yard-waste composting program; this is the only provision authorizing composting, and it sits inside the bulk rubbish and animal waste article. 'Composting' itself is defined at § 24-2 as 'a controlled condition under which organic material decomposes and stabilizes,' giving the term a specific legal meaning distinct from simply piling up yard trimmings.
The same section offers two other lawful animal-waste paths: small domestic pet waste can be bagged and placed in a solid waste container (§ 24-16(e)(1)), while waste from larger animals or livestock kept as pets, such as horses, can go in a container if it is dry and contained (§ 24-16(e)(2)); animal waste mixed into bulk or brush piles, bagged or not, will not be collected. Businesses generating manure or similar livestock waste in volume can instead contract for a commercial manure front-load container, billed at double the standard commercial refuse container rate (§ 24-32(h)).
Enforcement of the nuisance standard ties into the city's vector control authority under § 24-54(a), which lets the city enforce rules controlling rodents, flies and mosquitoes in coordination with county and state vector control regulations.
Violations & Fines
Failing to remove and properly dispose of or compost animal waste often enough to prevent a nuisance or health hazard is a chapter 24 violation subject to a civil fine of up to $500 for a first offense and up to $700 for a repeat within two years (§ 24-52(c)); a second violation within a year can be prosecuted as a class one misdemeanor (§ 24-52(d)). Persistent nuisance conditions can also draw vector-control enforcement action under § 24-54.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I compost animal waste at my Scottsdale property?
What does Scottsdale's code count as composting?
Do I have to compost my pet's waste in Scottsdale?
Can I put horse manure in my Scottsdale trash container?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Scottsdale
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Composting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle composting.