Composting Information and Guidelines

Healthy soil is an essential resource for Wisconsin's landscape, benefiting our agriculture and horticulture industries and improving soil for home gardens and landscaping. Compost produced from yard materials and other organics, such as food scraps, can replenish vital soil organic matter, microorganisms and nutrients for crops.

Compost production also diverts yard materials from Wisconsin's landfills into productive use. Wisconsin law banned the disposal of yard materials starting in 1993. Today nearly 200 state-licensed composting sites, along with residents on their own land, manage an estimated 700,000 tons of yard materials. Yard materials (or "yard waste" as defined in Wisconsin law) include leaves, grass clippings, brush and woody material under 6 inches in diameter.

Wisconsin generates an additional 500,000 tons of materials annually--including food scraps--that could be composted and made into useful products. DNR staff are working with nonprofits, local governments and businesses to facilitate the growth and expansion of composting operations in Wisconsin.

What Is Compost?

Compost is a soil-like material rich in stabilized carbon produced from the breakdown of organic materials. It is considered a soil amendment, rather than a fertilizer, because it usually contains only small amounts of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Benefits of applying compost include:

• restoring or enhancing the ability of sandy soil to hold moisture and clay soils to drain;
• repairing or preventing damage caused by erosion; and
• aiding plant growth after construction and mining projects are completed.

Use the links below or on the left-hand side of this page to find more information about specific composting topics.

• Home Composting Overview
• Large-scale Composting Overview
• Compost Rules and Regulations
• Compost Use, Quality and Marketing

Compost Sites and Producers

Wisconsin has more than 180 licensed yard waste compost facilities [PDF 107KB]. A few facilities compost additional materials.

Publications and Contacts

DNR Publications

• Composting and Landspreading Source Separated Solid Waste Rule Summary, PUB-WA 1057 2006 [PDF 94KB]
• Home Composting: The Complete Composter, PUB-WA 182 2006 [PDF 219KB]
• Overview and Composting Product Approval Guidance, PUB-WA 613-05 [PDF 98KB]
• DNR Recommendations on "Compostable" Yard Waste Plastic Bags, PUB-WA 423-05 [PDF 27KB]
• Compost Facilities Eligible for Exemption, PUB-WA 1025 2006 [PDF 72KB]
• Blastomycosis and Yard Composting Awareness, PUB-WA 1173 2007 [PDF 63KB]

Other Publications and Resources

• EPA Web site on organic materials [exit DNR]
• EPA Web site on composting [exit DNR]
• Getting into the Large-scale Composting Business, from South Carolina [PDF 136KB, exit DNR]
• Large-scale Composting: Day-to-day Operations, from South Carolina [PDF 222KB, exit DNR]
• Large-scale Organic Materials Composting, from North Carolina State University [PDF 236KB, exit DNR]
• Supermarket Composting Handbook from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection [PDF 1.4MB, exit DNR]
• University of Wisconsin-Extension Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center Web site [exit DNR], with resources on composting
• Cornell University's composting resources page [exit DNR]

Contacts

For general composting information, contact Kate Cooper at (608)267-3133.

For specific questions about a new or existing compost facility, contact your regional DNR specialist. Visit the DNR Staff Directory Subject Search and enter "compost" in the search field.