WIBU to shout at neighbour rummaging through my skip?

[Bobthebobbin]

Moved to a new area and managed to fall out with a neighbor already.

I came home the other day to find an old man rummaging through my skip and a pile of "treasures" on the floor that he was helping himself to.

I asked him why he was on my property and what he was doing, he said he needed a few bits! He then proceeded to turn his back on me and carried on sorting through the skip. DP was at home but the man did not knock or ask to remove anything.

I said he can't just come on to my property and help himself to whatever he likes without asking. He said it's in the skip so fair game.

Things got a bit heated and I shouted at him to get off my driveway.

I am furious but also shaken up by an attempted burglary when we first moved in so perhaps that experience is colouring my view.

Genuinely cannot tell if IABU.

Taking stuff from skips - fine.
We have the opposite problem - soon as a skip turns up, cheeky fuckers sneak along and dump stuff in it! Have to have a builder watching it all day and tarp it over at night to have any chance of it having space in by the next day. So usually rubble etc accumulates in the front area so the skip can be filled in a day.

You all need to open your eyes and stop being so naive.

Thanks for your instruction, I'll ignore it, not smash up stuff and not add to landfill by doing that thanks. Makes me feel much superior to you!

Wow. So many people who think it's cool to wander onto the property of someone you don't know and go bin diving. So grubby.

Look at you all defending some skip diver who couldn’t even be bothered to knock on her door to ask whether he could rifle through her stuff and ignored her when she asked him to stop. I’m sure you’d all just love that if it was you, most of you won’t even let your own tradesmen use your loos.

It's the norm where I live. We have an inadequate social safety net and have policies meaning people get paid a small amount for taking certain recyclable items (drinks cans and alike) to recycling centers, so people on low income spend their days dumpster diving for recyclables. Our apartment block's dumpsters and bins probably have 20-30 raiders per day.

I dont get annoyed by it and try to leave my recyclables out in a bag for their convenience. Wish people weren't left so desperate that it's a common feature of daily life though

My issue wasn't them taking stuff from the skip, more that they thought it was ok to come into the front garden to do it. A skip on the road is fair game, but not on a driveway.

He said it's in the skip so fair game.

Yes to this, where I live, if it's places in a skip it's available if somebody else wants it. It's a great idea to reuse rubbish and I can't see the harm. However, he was rude to you in your own driveway. You probably could have been calmer but so could he. I've spotted items in skips and helped myself before now but only when the skip was on the road and I would have apologised if somebody got upset with me.

You all need to open your eyes and stop being so naive

More than happy to be naive if it means behaving like a decent human being.

I couldn't care less if others want to sell things I have no further need for.
I don't want the hassle of trying to sell them.
If it can enrich someone else's life why should I be concerned?
I have lost nothing and someone else has gained.

FFS letting someone disrespect you in your own property is now behaving like a decent human being??
If you were an excellent human being do you let them beat you too, after all they are just releasing their stress and it would be unkind not to let them!

He was trespassing. And he could have read any mail you discarded, etc. YWNBU.

Nobody with half a brain puts paperwork in a skip.

My issue wasn't them taking stuff from the skip, more that they thought it was ok to come into the front garden to do it. A skip on the road is fair game, but not on a driveway.

It depends on the driveway IMO.
If OPs driveway is 300m long and gated then yes, I see your point.
If the skip means he has to travel about 2 feet from the pavement, I think she's being unreasonable.

And he could have read any mail you discarded, etc. YWNBU

Nobody puts unshredded paperwork in a skip.

Nobody puts unshredded paperwork in a skip.

I wasn't talking about bank statements, I was referring to junk mail in the recycling. I wouldn't want a skip diver to know where I went to uni, what charities I support, where I shop, etc.

YWBU. It's a bit mental to tell someone off for taking things you have put in a giant bin destined for land fill.

was referring to junk mail in the recycling. I wouldn't want a skip diver to know where I went to uni, what charities I support, where I shop, etc

Why on earth not? The binmen have access to that every time they empty the recycling bin if they cared, which they don’t.

I wasn't talking about bank statements, I was referring to junk mail in the recycling. I wouldn't want a skip diver to know where I went to uni, what charities I support, where I shop, etc.

Then put your recycling in the recycling bin

I wasn't talking about bank statements, I was referring to junk mail in the recycling. I wouldn't want a skip diver to know where I went to uni, what charities I support, where I shop, etc

Why would your recycling be in a skip

You sound a bit precious to be quite honest. Why do you care if someone is taking bits out... Leaves spaces for more rubbish.

Why would your recycling be in a skip

It's not, it's collected separately. I have seen people rummaging through it in the past looking for bottles and cans they can return for a 5 cent deposit.