(a) Location for Backyard Compost Sites.
(1) Composting containers shall be located and designed so that seepage from the compost will not run off into public or private streets, storm sewers, drainage ditches, water retention basins, streams or lakes, nor across adjoining property lines.
(2) No compost container may be located closer than twenty (20) feet to any residential dwellings, except the dwelling on the property at which the compost container is located.
(3) No compost container may be placed within twenty (20) feet of any body of water or area designated as 100-year flood plain or state protected wetland.
(b) Permitted Materials for Backyard Compost Sites. Permitted composting materials for a backyard compost site include food scraps, garden wastes, non-regulated weeds, lawn cuttings, leaves and prunings from a single family or household, as well as compostable plastics meeting ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868.
(c) Prohibited Materials for a Backyard Compost Site. The following compostable materials shall not be placed in a backyard composting container: meat, fish, poultry and bones, fats, oils, grease and lard, whole eggs, milk or other liquid dairy products, human or pet wastes, pesticides, herbicides, noxious weeds and any other mixed municipal solid waste that may cause a public health risk or create nuisance conditions.
(d) Composting Container for Backyard Compost Site. All composting must occur in a container constructed out of wood, wire mesh, concrete block, plastic, or a combination thereof, or in a commercially available compost bin designed for composting organic materials. Composting containers shall be enclosed on at least three (3) vertical sides, and shall be designed to reduce or prevent scavenging to the extent practicable.
(e) Volume and Height of Backyard Compost Site. Backyard compost sites shall not exceed a total of four (4) cubic yards in volume. The maximum height of the composting container shall be five (5) feet.
(f) Maintenance. Compost materials shall be layered, aerated, moistened, turned and managed to promote effective decomposition of the materials in a safe, secure and sanitary manner. Backyard compost sites must be maintained to minimize nuisance conditions.
(g) Compost Use. When the composting process is finished and the compost resembles a soil-like humus or mulch material, it shall be used as a soil amendment. Finished or unfinished compost shall not be used in a manner causing a nuisance.
(Ord. 12-2019. Passed 7-17-19.)