Composting Facility Permitting Requirements

Permit-by-Rule - Yard Waste Composting Facilities less than five acres

Municipal Waste Permit-by-Rule Regulations Chapter 271.103

Guidelines for Yard Waste Composting Facilities (PDF) 254-5403-100 (eLibrary)

Best Management Practices for the Management of Waste from Land Clearing, Grubbing, and Excavation (PDF) 254-5400-001 (eLibrary)

Municipal Waste General Permit Forms

General Permit WMGM015 (PDF) - Processing and beneficial use of wood and timber waste (i.e., tree stumps, limbs, clean wood, untreated and unpainted wood and pallets) and the leaf and yard waste as mulch and compost.

General Permit WMGM017 (PDF) - On-Farm composting of manure, yard waste, source separated food scraps from food markets, grocery stores, food banks, food distribution centers, school cafeterias and institutions, source-separated newspaper, and source-separated corrugated paper (cardboard).

General Permit WMGM030 (PDF) - Yard Waste Composting Facilities between five acres and 15 acres

General Permit WMGM042 (PDF) - Anaerobic digestion of animal manure on a farm mixed with (i) grease trap waste (collected from restaurants or grocery stores) and (ii) pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste from commercial or institutional establishments.

General Permit WMGM045 (PDF) - Processing and beneficial use activities performed by facilities that, at any one time, do not exceed (i) 5 acres and (ii) 6,000 cubic yards per acre of wastes as follows: 1. Processing by mixing or blending, screening and composting of (a) source separated food processing waste, (b) source separated pre-and-post consumer food wastes, (c) yard waste, (d) unpainted and untreated wood waste, (e) source segregated paper and cardboard, (f) land clearing and grubbing waste, and (g) agricultural waste on an active or abandoned mine site approved by the Department as part of a mine reclamation permit or project. 2. Beneficial use of the cured compost as (a) a soil additive, (b) a mulch for landscaping purposes, (c) a fertilizer in normal farming operations or mine reclamation activities, or (d) in the production of a manufactured topsoil.

General Permits Issued for Soil Amendments (PDF)

Residual Waste General Permit Forms

General Permit - WMGR025 (PDF) Composting and beneficial use of the following source-separated wastes: agricultural waste other than mortalities, butcher waste other than whole carcass, food processing waste, pre-consumer and post-consumer food residuals, yard waste, land clearing and grubbing material, untreated wood waste, gypsum wallboard, paper, cardboard, waxed cardboard, virgin paper mill sludge and spent mushroom substrate.

Composting Facility Permitting Requirements

Report Forms

Inspection Forms