Bin Day Etiquette

[BinToHellAndBack]

Tomorrow is bin day here (actually it's recycling day, but this thread refers to both bins and recycling in equal measure).

We always put our bins as early in the evening as we can because a) we'd probably forget otherwise and b) it saves the loud trundling and banging at 11pm followed by cussing as you somehow manage to make the bin grind your knuckles along the pebbledash

However, I do not feel that the bin being out on the street is a free-for-all for the neighbours to rush over and cram their refuse into our bin. Sometimes there's more to go in! So AIBU?

I'm all for using the neighbours leftover space if you've run out, but would it be so hard to just ask? Or at least wait until the morning when there's unlikely to be any more. Last week our recycling bin was overflowing with old school work-books, I'd estimate about 70-100!

And I have no idea who it is. I heard the tell-tale flap of the lid closing about 30 mins ago (fair enough it's probably late enough this time to not be unreasonable). I rushed to the window to see who was there... nobody. So they must be trying to sneak.

Hmm, I need to get a life or maybe a bigger bin

Why don't you just put it out on the morning? Have I missed something here? I would be cross if anyone else used my bins.

That would annoy me so much!
Especially because sometimes I want to add an extra rubbish bag in the morning.

Find out who it is and dump their rubbish in their doorway.

I'm another that adds an extra carrier bag in the morning (late evening rubbish and then breakfast waste, nappies etc) so this would annoy the crap out of me. I'd have to go for the note thing although I suspect if they are cheeky enough to do it a note won't bother them

God, I feel everyone's pain here. I live in a ground floor flat and our bins go out into the street in front of us on Sundays. So if I'm sitting in the living room, I can see exactly which fuckers are abusing our bins. Sadly, I'm too cowardly/lazy to confront them, so I just sit and stare at them, like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. A few have actually moved away with their bin bags when they've clocked me!

It got really bad in the summer. Our block of flats' (4 flats) bins were getting filled by everyone, so you ended up with nappies, dog shite and seagulls picking out old food and tossing it all over the road because the bin lids wouldn't shut. Gross.

What was the name on the school books?

Couldn't tell you if our neighbours add to bins but wouldn't bother me as long as they don't make a mess. It's just rubbish and going within a few hours.

Glad we don't have bins here and that it is just bin bags. They have to get put out in the morning though or the seagulls will shred them.

I would always ask neighbours before putting stuff in their bin, it's just common courtesy. What I can't bear is people putting their dog shit in my bin, particularly my recycling and glass bin. It leaves me in danger of it not being collected as it has non recyclables in or having to fish it out if they put it in a newly emptied bin. So bloody rude, take your minging dog shit home please!

Depends on the neighbour, as to the etiquette.

We've lived here years - if any of the other neighbours who have lived here years, who happen to be lovely people, want to use up the space left at the top of my bin, they're welcome to. Our 'new' neighbours are vile - endlessly swearing, shouting, being abusive and pains in the arse. If they added owt to my bin they'd find it splattered all over their front garden within ten minutes. So it totally depends on who is doing the dumping.

Oddly I saw the man looking in our bin the other week. As it in on our front garden, and nowhere near his, there was no explanation for it and as I was alone in the house (and he's violent and threatening) I wasn't going out there to challenge him. I did contact the council (we're council tenants and they are) to say as the family next door have no sense of boundaries, maybe they need to write him a letter to remind him he can't float around in other people's gardens.

We're now putting the bin right the other side, on the drive, in clear view of the house. Which is inconvenient as after it's empty I have to run out and move it.

The nutjob neighbours fill their bin to overflowing, and put out extra bags, and have a five foot high pile of full bin bags full of lager cans and dirty nappies permanently in their back garden. So bins and bin bags seem to be an issue. They haven't yet added some of their crap to our bin - but if they do, they will find it gets returned.

We have just moved, 10 years of no near neighbours didn't leave us ready for Bingate

We have wheely bins, as do 2 other neighbours. The rest have bin bags.

We hadn't been in long (think about 2 hours) when 1 neighbour popped round to tell us that he had 2 green garden waste bins and we were free to pop our stuff in if there was room.

Another neighbour asked if it were OK (well, he sort of told me he had been doing it forever and would carry on) to pop stuff into our bin if it was empty enough, the steps to his house make it difficult to leave bin bags placed well enough for his wife to get in and out of the house. Then again, he also pointed out that I can leave any overflow in a bin bag with anyone elses bags, should I ever need to.

Both men wheel my bins to the back gate if they get in before me.

I have just accepted that this is how it is done in places where you have neighbours!

I couldn't give a monkey's if someone was to put something in my bin once it was out. Who cares? Even if it's something smelly. It's a bin. It's for rubbish, and if it's not full, knock yourself out. Better than it be being dumped on the street.

I do think people who pay for jet washing of their bins are slightly insane.

We all seem to be on top of our rubbish on our street.

But when your neighbour puts your bin out for you, if you then take your bin back in it is definately the done thing to take your neighbours bin in as well!!!

For those who want to keep space in their bins - have you considered carefully crafting a false rubbish top for your bin? Keep it in there until ready to add the last few bits.

In fact, perhaps there's a hitherto untapped market here. Custom made bin placeholders, or possibly wheely bin locking mechanisms with a timer...

Our local council won't issue additional bins without "exceptional reasons" (family of 6, 3 in nappies recently got refused) and the council website actually advises people to put their excess rubbish in neighbours bins on collection day

You can get wheelie bin locks! www.binlock.com

When I lived in London, our borough had wheelie bins. Some people seemed to keep them close to the front hedge/fence/gate.

I always used them to dispose of kebab wrappers . Keep Britain Tidy and all that.

Isn't that what the Big Society is all about.

Personally I'd much rather someone used my bin to throw their wrapper/can in, than just throw it on the ground and let the wind blow it onto my lawn.

Where it goes in my bin anyway.

(Well, I say "bin" I really mean "black bag" ).

If someone had put their bin out, I'd assume they had put all their rubbish in it and wouldn't need the extra space. But I'd still ask before putting my own stuff in there.

Oh and KidLorneRoll - I pay to have the bins jet washed because fortnightly collections for food waste are not enough in warm weather. We had maggots in the bin last summer, ugh.

In your case OP, I'd go for a bin lock, or try for a few weeks to wait until morning to put the bin out.
It's not ideal, I know, from what you said, having to put the bin out in the morning, but I'd enjoy pissing off someone who is too tight probably, to pay for their own bin collection.

Binlock - all very well but don't you have to remove it to get the bin emptied?

Also the pp who called pest control to get rid of maggots. I can't believe someone would do that. What did they do that you couldn't have done yourself with insect spray?

I'm with the 'once the bin is out, you can add to it' - not sure i have actually done this without asking as we have 3 big bins and only use 1 (or 2 on a bad day)

Its all going to the same place, its a bin, it doesnt come in to my house, cant see a problem myself - would rather have rubbish in it, than on the streets and if it saves my neighbour from having to drive to the tip (not very 'green') brilliant!

We usually empty our kitchen bin the morning rubbish is due to go, after emptying everything else the night before - I'm not going to waste half a bin bag. But if our bin is full, whether ours or someone else's rubbish, we do drop it into a neighbours. We have some who we are really friendly with, and one who is a single man so has rarely generated enough rubbish to fill his over a fortnight. He doesn't mind as long as our rubbish is bagged.

On the one occasion our bin wasn't picked up because it was overflowing, I did ring the council office and asked if it could be emptied. They told me it was overflowing, hence not collected. But it hadn't been when I left it and as we have to leave the bins on public property by 7am on the day of collection, they did concede but said the bin would be checked and we would be charged if all the rubbish was proven to be ours! (Never heard another thing from them).

Loving this thread, particularly "I keep a clean bin" and "I'm not jealous of poo bins"