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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think our neighbors have swapped them while we were out?

128 replies

Stigofthedump90 · 11/04/2019 17:28

I’m not sure if I’m being paranoid or not but I’m really upset.

We have had our current NDN (terraced) for about a year and they are really scruffy. Our front gardens don’t have a boundary, and they leave their bins at the end of them full time. Can’t really do much about this, but the thing is, they don’t always put stuff in black bags. I’ve seen the sons just lift the lid when they are off out and put food wrappers etc straight into the bin. It does get annoying especially when they leave the lid up and wind blows their crap all over our garden and path. I do just generally grit my teeth and move it though because I don’t want to confront them and have a falling out.

Today was bin day so I wheeled ours out before I went to work. When I got home and went to put them back, I noticed that the black one really really stank. So I lifted the lid and there was a load of loose rubbish at the bottom, with food wrappers of things we don’t eat and a whole Tupperware container that looks still to be dirty with food. There are maggots all over everything and it’s jusy disgusting. It made me gag. But the the bin has our number sticker on! I feel like I’m going mad because it certainly wasn’t in that state this morning.

I feel like I can’t go round though because they will just deny it and I have no proof - it looks like our bin! Is it unreasonable to ask them if they’ve swapped them around?!

I don’t want to have to clean it and keep the waste for another two weeks until bin day again. They obviously didn’t accept the stuff that wasn’t in a bin bag. I can’t even get to close to it it’s so horrible.

I have NO idea what the reasonable course of action would be here! Does anyone have any advice? Sad

OP posts:
peachdribble · 12/04/2019 18:08

‘Disco rice’!😂🤮

Plunger · 12/04/2019 18:09

Paint on your house name/number using left overs from decorating. On the side and lid! We did this when we got left a neighbour's bin that the binmen had refused to empty.

PigletJohn · 12/04/2019 18:11

if you have a hosepipe, lie the bin on its side, open end overhanging the gutter, and hose it out. The grime will mostly be washed away and run down the drain. Leave the bin open in the sun to dry out.

Solid material you can put in a bag.

If you hose out maggots in the early morning and there is not much traffic, birds will be pleased to gobble them up.

No need for bleach or chemicals, except that, after you have hosed out the bin, if it is still greasy, you can throw a bucket of hot water and detergent in it, and slosh it around with a broom, then tip it into the gutter. No need to lean into it.

You can paint your number with an oil-based gloss paint, which sticks well to plastic. Put it on each side, and the lid, and the inside of the lid, big as you like. You can also paint flowers or stickmen on the bin as ornaments if you want.

csigeek · 12/04/2019 18:11

Our old neighbours did something similar albeit far more blatant! We had a normal size black wheelie bin (general waste) and they had a small version. One week our bin went missing but their small one stayed out on the path for a few days. I couldn't find ours anywhere so reported to the council and they sent a new one. Also took the small bin that was left stranded on the path.
Next black bin day (every other week) lol and behold our bin, complete with our number sticker, appeared outside their house!! They'd nicked it!
I ended up with a nice new bin and spray painted our number on every single side and lid!!

You can ask the council for a new one for a fee and they'll come and swap, if you call them and explain they may even waive the fee.

fashiondevotee · 12/04/2019 18:12

Ugh, people like this are the worst. You have my sympathies, OP.

SuchAToDo · 12/04/2019 18:12

Is it the bin that has your number on?...it is one of those reusable peel off/ cling on stickers because if so they could have lifted it off your bin and put it on their grotty bin...

BertieHogarth · 12/04/2019 18:17

Don’t put a sticker on it. Paint your house number on it. I’ve had to do this as our neighbour kept taking our recycling bin. They have 4 recycling bins now but, as I can’t prove they took ours, I made sure ours was clearly marked in a way that couldn’t be mistaken or changed.

Bemusedagain · 12/04/2019 18:19

Don’t use a sticker. White paint your number on next time

flitwit99 · 12/04/2019 18:20

It's definitely their rubbish but I bet it's not their bin. If they are that lazy with rubbish they are not going to have gone to the bother of peeling the number off yours. They obviously don't care. I bet they threw some rubbish in yours just after they were last emptied, either on purpose or by mistake/laziness and you just didn't notice. You probably only noticed the smell once all your bagged rubbish was emptied out

PutyourtoponTrevor · 12/04/2019 18:25

On a side note I've never put stuff in a bag before it goes in the bin, it just gets put in the bin. I don't have a bin in the kitchen and our wheelie bins are just outside the back door

mumsiedarlingrevolta · 12/04/2019 18:26

OP do you have a bin cleaning service? I get mine cleaned for £2.50 a month-do a fantastic job and smells nice.
I started after a hideous, gag inducing maggot infestation one hot summer. We also had flies and you walk by our bins to our front door.
They disinfect and really clean. Very worth it for me!!

Joebloggswazere · 12/04/2019 18:37

Stickers can be peeled off, paint it!

Sara107 · 12/04/2019 18:38

Personally I would take the spineless approach and say nothing. Sort it out and get one of those all over stickers of flowers or leaves, no way that could be taken off and moved. Maybe also paint your number on the inside of the lid, much harder to get off than a sticker!

EllenMP · 12/04/2019 18:39

Ew. Swap them back when they are out.

Miniloso · 12/04/2019 18:55

Swap them back!

Mosaic123 · 12/04/2019 19:34

Use light coloured nail varnishes to paint some flowers , numbers and whatever you want. Too difficult to reproduce by your neighbour.

bubblegumunicorn · 12/04/2019 20:44

Call your council with the serial number they will tell you which property the bin is registered to then you can confront them with that evidence!

flitwit99 · 12/04/2019 21:16

Have you checked in the other bin to see if it is really clean? If it is their original bin it will be filthy.

emmakc1977 · 12/04/2019 21:46

I had similar a few months ago. We moved into a new house and the previous owner too bins so Council gave me a new recycle bin. I bought lovely stickers for my bin with door no on. Put them out and we had really bad wind all day, when I got back in evening my sticker had been peeled off and put on a grubby bin with no lid! Clearly it had been blown around in the wind and some cheeky fucker peeled sticker off my bin and put on the broken one. I had to call council and wait two weeks for a new bin. I was irrationally pissed so bought paint and have painted door no on them now!!

MummasTheWord · 12/04/2019 21:47

When he put stuff back in their bin did he noticed if it looked clean of rubbish at the bottom? Definitely paint number on it - can use spray paint.

mylifestory · 12/04/2019 21:51

Go and look in their bin and see I it looks more like yours!

SinkGirl · 12/04/2019 22:00

OP do you have a bin cleaning service? I get mine cleaned for £2.50 a month-do a fantastic job and smells nice.

Someone cleans wheelie bins for £2.50? That’s awful.

Angie169 · 12/04/2019 22:16

I have had my bins nicked on many occasions, so I spent a small fortune on gold spray paint and painted all ( 4 ) of my bins all over except the lids . ( so I could tell what colour/ recyclable stuff they were ) not only does no one nick them now , I can spot them a mile off when the bin men haven't left them outside my house , and I have got the most expensive looking bins on the estate £££££££ Grin

Angie169 · 12/04/2019 22:17

SinkGirl why is that awful ?

Bitlost · 12/04/2019 22:20

Take off the sticker and swap them back.