Toledo, OH Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

2405, added by Ordinance 158-18 (passed April 24, 2018), permits composting as an accessory use in residential zoning districts, subject to standards that apply even though home gardens are otherwise exempt from the surrounding urban agriculture rules. No compost pile or total composting area may exceed 300 cubic feet in size or 5 feet in height. 0201 and must be located as far from adjacent residential areas as possible, properly screened. A sourcing rule targets what can be composted: unless generated on-site, the code bars accepting animal manures and food scraps containing meats, bones, and dairy products from off-site sources, so a resident can compost their own kitchen scraps but can't take in a neighbor's meat waste for a shared pile.

Composting areas and structures must be maintained to protect adjacent properties from nuisance odors and from attracting rodents or other pests. If composting is the principal use of a site rather than an accessory to a residence, it's regulated instead under the Construction Sales and Services use category, a different and more intensive zoning classification entirely.