Merced County, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Merced County Code § 9.08.010(A) requires that all refuse generated on a property be removed to an authorized disposal site at least once a week, but it specifically carves out garden rubbish: it 'may be composted in a manner approved by the health officer' instead of being hauled away, so a resident can legally keep a compost pile or bin for grass clippings, leaves, and plant trimmings without violating the weekly-removal rule, provided the county health officer has signed off on how the composting is done and it does not become a nuisance or health hazard.

Chapter 9.06's organic waste ordinance separately defines and carves out room for larger-scale, small neighborhood composting. Under § 9.06.030, 'community composting' means composting green material, agricultural material, food material, and vegetative food material, alone or combined, where the total feedstock and finished compost on-site at any one time does not exceed 100 cubic yards and 750 square feet, tracking the state threshold in 14 CCR § 17855(a)(4). Single-family generators may use a qualifying community composting site to manage part of their organic waste in place of subscribing to the county's green-container collection for that material, per § 9.06.040(A). Above those thresholds, an operation is no longer 'community composting' and instead needs the compostable-materials handling and facility permits that apply to larger operations, administered by the county's public works and environmental health departments.