On 25 Jun 2003 19:45:08 -0700, (LoneEarth)
wrote:

Despite futile attempts to educate my neighbors they persist in
remaining stubbornly ignorant about composting and insist that my
compost bins, which are screened and tidy, will surely cause a
horrible stench (though they have not in the past 3 years) and result

My question is this: do I have a right to compost yard waste? I live
in a city with small but not tiny lots and the bins built from wood
from a very large tree we had removed

I am amazed by your ingenuity Congratulations with using the
resources given, and not going to the home depot and spending money on
pressure-treated wood.

to have an ordinance covering everything, but it seems completely
ridiculous for me to purchase a sticker (I would probably need
several- they only pick up yard waste biweekly) so that the city can
throw it in their municipal compost site and then sell it back to me

That is silly. Maybe there's a permit required for compost piles.
Find the paperwork, pay the fee and win the fight. A cop will listen
and give MUCH more weight to paperwork from city hall than he will
complaints from the neighbors. Throw the paperwork in his face, and
the only sentence you'll get from him is "have a nice day, sir". And
don't complain about the fee, I have to pay $50 and be *FINGERPRINTED*
to own a gun in NJ (any gun without a permit is illegal in NJ). The
fee was $70 6 months ago, I think they're trying to make it more
"reasonable".

Find something of theirs you find distasteful, and bitch about it next
time they bring it up (cats running around killing birds, color of
their house, something like that). You are saving the city a great
deal of money with reduced garbage waste, and helping the environment.
Don't let these ignorantly blissful fools win. Find loopholes in the
law, state your pro-environment views to the local municipal
government. Go on the offensive, and next time the neighbors complain
tell em to go to hell.

Also, try to hide it. Cover with grass clippings or dirt/sod. Image
is everything to too many people out there. Out of sight, out of mind
(and boy there sure is a lot thats out of sight to some people).

Dan