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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To take their shit (in some cases, literally) and dump it in their garden? (Skip related)

101 replies

MotherOfDemons · 01/08/2021 11:23

We are doing some work on our garden and hired a skip so we could get rid of an old shed and some garden debris. All week it's been fine, no one had put anything in and I was very much of the "not in my area" mindset.

Until yesterday. We had found a bag of open dog shit in our skip and had suspicions on who it was. We set up a camera and waited and caught the guy in the act. Went and put it on his doorstep as I know where he lives (he walks his dogs regularly past our house) thinking he might take the hint.

Saw him go past this morning so watched for him coming back at our hidden side window only for him to do it again! So I confronted him about it and he denied it outright until I got the video up on my phone. Said I would keep putting the shit right back on his doorstep if I saw him on camera again.

Woke up this morning to see someone had dumped a huge plastic pot of tile grout in there. Checked the camera and it's the neighbour a few doors down. Took it down and stuck it right in the middle of their driveway. He suddenly appears yelling "You can't dump your shit in my garden". Tell him we have him on CCTV dumping it in our skip and I will happily take it back for 10 quid. He is livid and offended that I would even suggest that he would dump it in my skip right up until I show him the video Hmm

I now have sign up telling people not to dump stuff and that they are being recorded, but AIBU to dump peoples shit right back if I catch them on camera doing this? I paid 200 quid so I could clear my own garden, not so I could fund a giant community bin! Sorely tempted to spam them on social media too (I won't of course).

OP posts:
godmum56 · 01/08/2021 14:48

@WeAllHaveToGetAlong

While IT is wrong that others use your skip is it really worth falling out with all the neighbours about it? I wouldn't have the energy to keep an eye on a skip and deliver dog poo back to my neighbours.

It just seems childish and petty. I'd invest in a tarpaulin and close the skip at night and make sure that it was there only for a few days anyway. There's a way of organising building work so the skip is there for as few days as possible.

Isn't it sometimes easier to be the nice person in all of this? Even though other people do bad things?

and there are fairies at the bottom of my garden
billy1966 · 01/08/2021 14:54

@PlayerOne

We are getting a skip next week to clear some garden rubble and am now paranoid about this happening... can I please ask what security camera you used?
The trick is have EVERYTHING ready to load into it BEFORE you take delivery so it is filled up immediately.

Unfortunately having an empty one that is easily accessed, IS an invitation to some types to get rid of rubbish.

It is CF territory.

Well done OP.

quicklybeingdrivenmad · 01/08/2021 14:58

DH was a bit stunned, and did not know what to say, this is after he rang the skip company after skip 2 went to check when the next one was coming (skip company assumed it was us so told him)
I have had a polite word about the fact that after us, he is the main user of the skip and anything further he wants to dump, he will need to pay towards it.
Doubt it will do any good as over the years has just used my garden waste bin as his own with the words did not think you would mind.

RitaFires · 01/08/2021 15:24

I hate when people act like it's unneighbourly to not allow people to throw things in a skip you've paid for. It's fair enough if 1. You've got all the rubbish you need taken away already in the skip and 2. They ask.

There is also the point that the skip services have rules about what is and isn't allowed. My mother is an elderly widow, recent cancer survivor and carer for my brother with special needs, she got a skip for clearing some stuff out and a neighbour filled it full of cuttings from their trees without asking. The company my mother used does not allow garden waste so my mother had to take every last branch out herself.

1forAll74 · 01/08/2021 15:27

I think you need me living next door. I sometimes look in peoples skips when passing by, and sometimes notice stuff that I could use for some diy stuff that I do. Things like decent pieces of wood, and bricks etc, but always ask the people with the skip ,if it's ok to take something or other.

Some people throw perfectly good items away. Two years ago, I saw two lovely wooden kitchen chairs chucked into a skip. no wobbly legs, no damage at all. So asked if I could take them. no problem. So I sanded them down back home, and woodstained and varnished them,and they look good now.. Think it's because I am an oldie., and don't like waste and throwing things a away... except for dog shit, !!

RealBecca · 01/08/2021 15:42

Living my dream!!

Somanysocks · 01/08/2021 15:51

Attach a tarp over it when not in use.

Em8725 · 01/08/2021 15:53

You are amazing! We had this last year but couldn’t catch them. Our neighbour asked if he could dump some bricks and we said yes, he offered money but he spent such a long time stacking them nicely in each corner so they didn’t take up room that we refused his offer.

Lots of people knocked asking, and then got offended when we said no 😂. The entitlement is unreal. Someone accused us of causing her elderly parent distress because we wouldn’t let them dump their washing line in the skip we had paid for! 😂

If we were done with it and there was room we might have said yes, but not when we were still filling it.

purplesequins · 01/08/2021 15:58

@PlayerOne

We are getting a skip next week to clear some garden rubble and am now paranoid about this happening... can I please ask what security camera you used?
where I am (not uk) open skips are not allowed. they either have a metal lid (that folds down to double as ramp) or they are enclosed in a temporary shed thingy made from wooden pallets.
TheLadyGrayson · 01/08/2021 16:15

What is it about skips that brings out the ultimate in CFery? My neighbour once asked if they could put ‘a few bits’ in our (1/3 full at the most) skip.. they caught us rushing out on our way to work so didn’t really dwell on it. We came back that night and they’d completely filled it and to top it off, thrown a mattress on top, which the company charges extra to collect 😡 we hadn’t finished with it ourselves so had to go back through the contents to fit our things in, they had been so inconsiderate and not broken anything down to save space, it was like they’d ran round their house trying to find things to put in for the sake of it (like a medicine cabinet with pills still inside??) - god forbid they hired their own though 🙄.

I’m still mad about it now and it happened years ago 😅 Thank you for giving me the opportunity to get this off my chest!

sueelleker · 01/08/2021 16:24

@KatherineOfGaunt

Well done, OP! We had someone's big stainless steel sink and drainer put in our last skip and I was so annoyed because our builders then struggled to fit our own old kitchen and bathroom in there! People are so selfish.
We had this-our NDN asked our builder if she could put some rubbish in our skip. He said "yes, if you pay me". She skedaddled off and we heard no more of it. He had his answer ready, as apparently it's a frequent request.
LubaLuca · 01/08/2021 16:30

You'll have to watch this week's 'King Gary' - his neighbours take liberties with his skip including putting 'greedy boards' up the sides to load more in Grin

butterfly990 · 01/08/2021 16:48

We hired a skip once in Dublin. It was around Halloween time. It had an old sofa in it as I recall. We heard various crashing about that night but didn't think too much about it.

The next morning our skip was nearly empty the local kids had emptied everything to put on their bonfire. 🙄

IncyWincyGrownUp · 01/08/2021 16:59

I hate needing a skip. There are three drug addicts locally who turn up every time we have a skip, and they literally turf it all out looking for stuff to sell for a fix. They get offended when told to fuck off, and I have had some exhausting stand up rows with them as they literally have no shame.

SprayedWithDettol · 01/08/2021 17:03

Is there a market for lockable skip lids I wonder? 🤔

Purplebunnie · 01/08/2021 17:43

@donquixotedelamancha

I'm waiting for one of the posters on her to say, you should let people use your skip

Behold, I have arrived :-)

I don't understand having a row with neighbours over the space occupied by a tub of grout and a dog poo bag. I tell my neighbours when we are getting a skip so they can use it.

I also don't mind the neighbour's kids playing on our big drive or parking on it if they need extra space. I answer my door when people knock, even at night.

I know now what I must do [heads off to netmums].

So you think it's okay for the skip company to have to deal with dog poo? Unbelievable
SoundBar · 01/08/2021 17:47

We had a magic skip. Every day we put stuff in. Every night bits were taken out and new things put in by persons unknown. On the final day the skip contained maybe 50% our stuff and 50% random fly tipping. The weirdest thing being a full set of seats from a mini bus...!

thecatneuterer · 01/08/2021 17:51

@donquixotedelamancha

I'm waiting for one of the posters on her to say, you should let people use your skip

Behold, I have arrived :-)

I don't understand having a row with neighbours over the space occupied by a tub of grout and a dog poo bag. I tell my neighbours when we are getting a skip so they can use it.

I also don't mind the neighbour's kids playing on our big drive or parking on it if they need extra space. I answer my door when people knock, even at night.

I know now what I must do [heads off to netmums].

I'm with you. Big items - sure - that's not on. But something small? Not worth souring neighbour relations and no big deal IMO.
Yubaba · 01/08/2021 17:58

We’ve just had a big extension on our house and over the course of 6 months we had 15 skips of various sizes, the number of people trying to dump stuff was ridiculous, we had a washing machine dumped, a full bathroom set, a partial kitchen, loads of random black bags. It was very fucking annoying as some of the skips were only for rubble so we had to empty the crap out before the company would take them.
We also had loads of scrap dealers going through them to take stuff out which I didn’t mind so much. But it cost us the best part of 3k in skip hire, those things are expensive!

Duchess379 · 01/08/2021 18:05

Not all hero's wear capes! Good for you!! 😆👍🏼

Ugzbugz · 01/08/2021 18:21

Some put a ton of stuff in my skip, think it was loads of polystyrene etc and I was already in a foul mood so I just chucked it out and onto the road. We lived in a close then and it was removed but not sure who by Blush

ineedaholidayandwine · 01/08/2021 18:29

Brilliant OP!!! Well done for standing up to them

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 01/08/2021 19:40

You always need to be on your guard if people ask if they can put something in your skip as it's always going to be something massive. If they had a small box or a couple of bags or something, they'd just put it in their own bin.

They don't suit every circumstance, but this is one of the benefits of those skip bags you can get (Hippo Bags is one of the brand names) - plastic re-inforced builders bags that can go anywhere on your property as long as a crane can gain access to lift it over. The main advantage of them is that you can pile up all of your rubbish and only put the bag out once you're ready to fill it.

I think people either don't think of the cost, as they associate getting rid of rubbish - bins, the tip - as 'free' from the council; or otherwise, they just see skips as such massive things, they think they're bottomless. Yes, you can always tuck in an extra carrier bag here or there, not so much another three-piece suite.

Drivingmeupthewall · 01/08/2021 19:52

Love the image of you going round the neighbourhood catching Skip Abusers. I hope you have a catchphrase as you whip the phone out with the evidence?

Andylion · 01/08/2021 20:14

@Drivingmeupthewall

Love the image of you going round the neighbourhood catching Skip Abusers. I hope you have a catchphrase as you whip the phone out with the evidence?
Skip Abusers? I'd watch that show. 😁