Composting Program

Composting contributes to Oregon’s waste recovery goals thanks to the efforts of commercial and agricultural composting operations and citizens who compost in their back yards. On this page you will find information on permits and permit applications, recent studies on quality issues, updates on the Department’s policy work, and links to lots of useful information on how to make and use compost.

Policy

• Composting Facility Rulemaking
  Information for the compost facility rulemaking and its work group.

Commercial Composting

• Best Practices: Nursery Composting PDF
• Clopyralid Information
• Fact Sheets
  • Composting Facilities in Oregon: What are the Regulations
  • Composting Facility Rulemaking
• List of Composting Facilities
  A sortable query available as a downloadable file (as a PDF, Excel, Access or CSV file), that includes landfills, material recovery facilities, composters and waste tire facilities.
• Permit Applications

Residential Composting

• How to Apply Compost
• Natural Gardening Handbook (On Metro's web site)
• Publications
  • Basic Composting
  • A User's Guide to Compost
  • Food and Yard Debris Profile
• Two Percent credit program for residential composting.

Agricultural Composting

• Memorandum of Agreement between Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Relating to Regulation of Agricultural Composting Operations PDF
  • Attachments/Parts of the agreement:
    • Attachment A: OARs Relating Directly to Composting - Chapter 340, Divisions 93, 96, and 97
      Visit the Oregon State Archives web site.
    • Attachment B: Environmental Protection Criteria Oregon Agricultural Composting Management Plan PDF
    • Attachment C: Who Needs an Agricultural Composting Operations Permit PDF
    • Attachment D: Agricultural Composting Operation Complaint and Compliance Procedures PDF
    • Attachment E: DEQ's Regulatory Authority relating to Agricultural Composting Operations

Reports

• Commercial Food Waste Composting Food Study Project Report
• Excerpts from the Document:
  Research Concerning Human Pathogens and Environmental Issues Related to Composting of Non-Green Feedstocks PDF
• Restoring Soil Health to Urbanized Lands PDF
• Survey of Home Compost Bins Recipients in LaGrande

Resources

• BioCycle
  Monthly composting magazine
• City of Eugene - On-Site Composting Project
• King County Washington Organics and Composting Page
• US Composting Council

[print version]