West Bloomfield, MI Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)

Sec. 13-93 defines 'compostables' as yard waste plus 'household compostables,' meaning organic fruit and vegetable material produced incidental to preparing food for human consumption, excluding any animal, fish or fowl waste, fat or meat, so the mandatory organics rule reaches both yard debris and residential food scraps. Sec. 13-94(c) requires all compostables placed at curbside to be properly prepared: twigs and shrub clippings must be tied into bundles no longer than four feet and weighing no more than fifty pounds, and every other piece of yard waste has to go into a container or bag clearly marked or stickered with the words 'YARD WASTE' so the hauler can identify it as compostable on sight.

Sec. 13-95 backs this up on the enforcement side: the authorized refuse hauler may refuse to collect recyclables or compostables from any property that has failed to source-separate them from refuse, failed to place them in approved containers, or failed to prepare them as this chapter requires. Because Article IV does not name its own civil-infraction fine for a Sec. 13-94 or Sec. 13-95 lapse, an escalated violation defaults to the Sec. 1-10 general penalty: a misdemeanor punishable by up to ninety-three days in jail and/or a $500 fine, with each day of continuing noncompliance a separate offense.