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HB431 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COMPOSTING.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COMPOSTING.

Agriculture Land
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Bush
Last action
2026-06-30
Official status
Passed 6/30/26
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text does not define 'commercial purposes' or 'zoned for agricultural purposes', so definitions were removed to avoid speculation.

HB431: Composting on Agricultural Land

This law requires Delaware to let people compost yard waste and food scraps for business use on farms, while setting a minimum size rule that counties must follow.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires properties zoned for agriculture to allow composting of yard waste, food residuals, and other organic materials for commercial purposes.
  • Allows county governments to set limits on the square footage used for this composting activity.
  • Mandates that counties must permit at least 5000 square feet of composting space for every 4 acres of property.
  • Amends Title 9, Chapter 3, Subchapter I of the Delaware Code to include these new rules.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Owners or operators of properties zoned for agricultural purposes in Delaware
  • County governments that manage zoning and land use regulations

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not state when it will take effect after passing the legislature.
  • County governments can set limits on composting size as long as they meet the minimum requirement of 5000 square feet per 4 acres.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • Bush

Passed 6/24/26

Plain English: This amendment requires Delaware to allow commercial composting on large agricultural properties while letting counties set size limits that cannot be smaller than 5,000 square feet.

  • Commercial composting of yard waste and food scraps must be allowed on private farms zoned for Agricultural Conservation outside the growth zone if they are at least 4 acres big.
  • County governments can set a maximum size limit for these composting activities, but they cannot allow less than 5,000 square feet.
  • The amendment does not explain the specific rules or safety standards that must be followed while doing this commercial composting.
  • It is unclear how counties will enforce these size limits or what happens if a property owner wants to use more space than allowed.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  2. 2026-06-25 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits

  3. 2026-06-24 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 1 to HB 431 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  4. 2026-06-24 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 1 to HB 431 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  5. 2026-06-24 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By House. Votes: 30 YES 10 NO 1 ABSENT

  6. 2026-06-24 Delaware General Assembly

    Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate

  7. 2026-06-10 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Agriculture) in House with 9 On Its Merits

  8. 2026-05-20 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Agriculture Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COMPOSTING.
This Act allows for the composting of yard waste, food residuals, and other organic materials on property zoned for agricultural purposes. County governments may limit the square footage allowed for this activity, but must allow for at least 5000 square feet per 4 acres of property.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Bush & Sen. Hoffner

Rep. K. Johnson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 431

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COMPOSTING.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Subchapter I, Chapter 3, Title 9 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 322. Composting.

(a) The diversion and composting of yard waste, food residuals, and other organic materials for commercial purposes must be allowed on properties zoned for agricultural purposes.

(b) County governments may limit the square footage of activity allowed under subsection (a) of this section, but must allow for at least 5000 square feet per 4 acres of property.

SYNOPSIS

This Act allows for the composting of yard waste, food residuals, and other organic materials on property zoned for agricultural purposes. County governments may limit the square footage allowed for this activity, but must allow for at least 5000 square feet per 4 acres of property.