Shared Bins and CF Neighbours

[Yellowgoose]

First time poster looking for some advice from wise MNs :)

I moved into a house that's been divided into self-contained flats several months ago. There are 4 flats (all rented) and we have 4 communal bins between us (2 for recycling and 2 for household waste) in the communal back garden.

The bins are collected each week and in theory, we all have shared responsibility to bring them back in. But it's basically just me bringing them back in every week. Whenever I've gone away for a few days, I'll come back and the bins will be strewn across the lawn and sometimes left partly on the pathway outside - until muggins here brings them back in!

Last time I got annoyed and stood my ground and left the bins where they were to see what would happen. One of the women who lives in one of the flats parks her car in the back garden, and she deliberately walked past the bins for several days and pointedly ignored them!! Eventually I put them back.

The way that the flat is set up means that we hardly see other, so I can't even just subtly drop it into conversation in passing. I've only seen the other tenants once or twice since I moved in and they are a bit dopey but nice.

The whole thing just really winds me up as everyone uses the bins so it doesn't feel that it ends up being one person constantly bringing them back in. But there are no issues in the building in terms of noise from the other flats so I'm wondering if I should just suck it up??

Has anyone been in this situation and what's the best way to deal with it?? A note? A knock on the door and conversation?

I'm really loathe to suggest a bin rota whereby we all take collective responsibility, even though it would be the fairest thing, as I escaped house/flat shares for this very reason as they seem to bring out the worst in everyone!!

While I decide what to do, I'm on bin strike lol and wondering how long I'll be able to hold out before I just end up putting them back in!!

I'd get my own bin, with a bin lock, and paint my flat number on it and only take that one back in. But I am very petty and passive aggressive. Not sure about the recycling though.

Yep. Order your own bins on the council website. Secure with either bin anti gravity locks or a regular padlock. Paint your flat number on it.
leave the other bins for the rest to deal with.

I have done this and was totally honest when asked why - because I’m not someone else’s skivvy.

Get your own bin?

If they don't care about their bins you can't really make them.

Thanks everyone, it's just so frustrating as it makes the house/garden look like crap and is such an eyesore!!

And I had thought about getting my own bin as I hate confrontation/sorting these things out - you never know how people will respond when you try and bring these things up!!

You can buy bin covers or have some fun with sticky back plastic - put a huge smiley face on the bin?

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 I could put angry faces on their bins 😂

@Yellowgoose 🤨😡😱😜
so many messages you can send!🤣

:(

I'd just carry on doing it if you can't stand looking at the eyesore.

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 haha yes! Maybe I ought to put an ET Go Home sticker on the bins pointing to where the bins ought to be 😂passive aggressive much??

Also horrible sharing bins is the people who don’t wash things up and the recycling bin stinks of soured milk and rotting food

Put a poo emoji on their bins

I find it annoying when the rubbish collectors just dump just anybody's bin outside my place and I always have to look through the manky leftovers ( old bills) to try and work out whose bins I have and get my clean ones back.
So I now have suffragette ribbons tied to all my various bins and I get just mine back.

That sounds so annoying about all the random bins being dumped outside your house @nzborn ! Would it help if you painted your house number on your bins so you can easily retrieve them?

Our recycling boxes end up down the street and all the people who work in the day are left trying to hunt down whatever is left when they get home.

Put a note in saying not sure if your aware but we need to bring the bins back each week from the street, please can everyone take a turn to do this, especially if you see them after they've been emptied?

Get your own bin. You are not their skivvy!

Thanks yellowgoose I did that as well.😀