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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Putting rubbish in a public bin

233 replies

HippyPippy · 20/08/2023 22:18

Someone I know regularly puts a carrier bag or two in a public bin. It’s because her bun is always full and she doesn’t want to put the dog waste in her own bin.

She has said that sometimes people driving by will give her dirty looks and beep their horn as if she’s doing something wrong?

I personally wouldn’t bat an eyelid if I saw someone putting rubbish in a bin, but it got me thinking whether others think this is wrong and if so why?

OP posts:
lanthanum · 21/08/2023 00:32

Deadringer · 21/08/2023 00:07

People usually only put them out when they are full, or very nearly full because of the lift charge so no time wasted emptying half full bins or tipping one bin into another.

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Presumably they get round much more quickly, so they can run more frequent collections because they're only emptying half as many bins.

When our binmen were very short-staffed due to covid, they said that each time they would prioritise half the round each time (giving us the postcodes), but they would attempt to get round as much as they could of the other half. They did pretty well, and I think those in the non-priority half only bothered putting the bins out if they needed it, which will have speeded things up.

We can put all food waste in the green bin; if they were to add in a nappy bin service, then that would leave nothing much that would be an issue in the "general waste". We'd be quite happy with monthly for that one.

I used to worry about the maggots in our green bin, until I noticed that as soon as they wriggle out of the bin, the birds eat them.

ohcrums · 21/08/2023 06:12

liveforsummer · 20/08/2023 23:31

Lol at the fly tipping/ human and household waste comments. So you go the park with a picnic and change your baby, pick up your dogs shit then bin it alongside the picnic litter and it's fine but a carrier bag with the same items without the trip will get you a fine? Unlikely! As for food waste bins. If anyone can come up with a fox proof design then maybe people locally will go back to using them but most got tired of scraping the contents up off the pavement

Of it's a poo you take the nappy home and dispose of it down the loo.

I'm seriously concerned the number of people who think it's ok to put a human poo in the bin.

Runningover · 21/08/2023 06:18

People put dog poos in the bin!

ohcrums · 21/08/2023 06:28

Runningover · 21/08/2023 06:18

People put dog poos in the bin!

It's a dog poo bin!

Runningover · 21/08/2023 06:31

ohcrums · 21/08/2023 06:28

It's a dog poo bin!

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Some of them are just normal waste bins for other rubbish and they say you can put dog poo in there too. I have put nappies in these bins when out and about. If I'm away for the weekend I'm not taking poos home !

liveforsummer · 21/08/2023 06:32

I'm seriously concerned the number of people who think it's ok to put a human poo in the bin.

The same bin that's already full of bags of dog poo? How much poo can you actually remove from a baby's nappy anyway? An older toddler if you're lucky and they haven't sat down in it then maybe but not a baby's. Do you wash the baby wipes too? as they'll also be covered in poo. Sorry but I think you're alone in this one and the vast majority of the country will just pop it in the bin

liveforsummer · 21/08/2023 06:33

Our city don't have separate dog poo bins so you are expected to use the normal public bin but even the ones that do - the waste all ends up on the same landfill anyway. Still don't see the difference

liveforsummer · 21/08/2023 06:39

pizzaHeart · 21/08/2023 00:02

There is a sign at a supermarket car park near me saying that it’s illegal and the fine for this is £50.

Shows how things vary dependant on area. Our supermarket car parks tend to have mini recycling centres full of bins for the public to use

MariaVT65 · 21/08/2023 06:42

I have only a couple of times when we’ve been going on holiday and will miss bin collection. This has only been food waste.

Our rubbish is collected weekly but we do not have outside bins, so the alternative would to have rotting food in my house for 2 weeks. If we had outside bins, i’d use those.

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 21/08/2023 06:52

I'm seriously concerned the number of people who think it's ok to put a human poo in the bin.

Why is it any worse than putting dog poo in the bin?

sandgrown · 21/08/2023 06:52

People regularly dump black bags in the public bin near me . When they are full they leave their bags next to the bin for the seagulls to open and spread the rubbish in the street !

ohcrums · 21/08/2023 06:59

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 21/08/2023 06:52

I'm seriously concerned the number of people who think it's ok to put a human poo in the bin.

Why is it any worse than putting dog poo in the bin?

Personally I think that's grim too. But human poo needs to go down the loo.

jotunn · 21/08/2023 07:04

I think it is inevitable that people will use public bins if it is too difficult to dispose of rubbish properly.

We spent two weeks at Easter helping DH's aunt move from her house into an assisted living place. She had been a bit of a hoarder. In her area of Wales, general waste was only collected every three weeks and we'd missed the collection. In order to use the tip, you had to provide pre book with car registration and provide proof of living in the county. As she wasn't able to come to the tip with us, we couldn't rely on her address.

We ended up with DH driving home every couple of days with a car full of rubbish which we took to our local tip or put in our bin so 2 extra hours of driving every two days because of the rubbish system.

WontBeLong · 21/08/2023 07:04

Some of our public bins have signs on saying they are been monitored and pointing out they are not to be used for household waste

Lilithlogic · 21/08/2023 07:09

LooselyBasedOnAMadeUpStory · 20/08/2023 23:12

@Lilithlogic does the council not collect cardboard with the recycling?

Yes, but it goes every 2 weeks and they have recently halfed the size of the recycling bin I can put out, I'd be willing to pay to be able to have it taken away

GreenMarigold · 21/08/2023 07:14

ElEmEnOhPee · 20/08/2023 23:19

Ours are collected every 3 weeks here and it's a fucking nightmare, I was ill last bin collection so overslept and missed it, what am I meant to do with 6 weeks of rubbish bags when I don't drive?! Thankfully my sisters partner took them to the tip for me but not everyone has someone who can do it. Mine get full because of my cat litter. I have a food waste caddy but as soon as I started using it I had rats everywhere so don't use it any more.

I have a public bin about a 2 minute walk from my front door, I have used it on occasion but food waste I usually lob in the freezer until bin day then stick it in the bins, that way I haven't got it festering for 3 weeks.

I recycle absolutely everything I can, I donate a lot of things I don't need and I have a glass collection point same distance as public bin so use that for glass and still I have about 4 black bags full by the end of 3 weeks, I don't know where I'm going wrong! I don't blame people for using public bins. Black bags used to be collected weekly, then every two weeks which is fine but every 3 weeks is taking the piss especially in summer.

4 black sacks for 3 weeks doesn’t sound really excessive but just wondered if you separate out soft plastics? When my local co-op started taking things like fruit tub tops, crisp packets and cereal box inners it reduced my waste a huge amount. I think other places must take soft plastics too if you don’t have a local Co-op.

Lilithlogic · 21/08/2023 07:15

It will be fireworks in the rubbish and dog bins soon, if other years are anything to go by

fyn · 21/08/2023 07:18

It’s illegal, it’s classed as fly tipping but also really scummy behaviour. Imagine if everybody put one of two bags of rubbish in the public bin. It costs councils a fortune to empty them as it is.

Zingy123 · 21/08/2023 07:23

It is flytipping. There is a public litter bin next to my house. It regularly gets full with people's carrier bags. Then dog walkers cannot fit their poo bags in. It's so lovely in the summer with the lovely aroma of dog poo with the bags all over the pavement.

The litter bin is only emptied once a week. It's usually full again the same day with the carrier bags.

MariaVT65 · 21/08/2023 07:27

fyn · 21/08/2023 07:18

It’s illegal, it’s classed as fly tipping but also really scummy behaviour. Imagine if everybody put one of two bags of rubbish in the public bin. It costs councils a fortune to empty them as it is.

Question - I have said earlier that I have only put my food waste in the public bin on 2 occasions when I will be away for bin collection. This is because the council does not provide my area with outside bins.

In my situation, are you still saying you’re ok to have rotting food in your house for 2 weeks during the summer?

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 21/08/2023 07:27

Personally I think that's grim too. But human poo needs to go down the loo.

What would you prefer dog owners do with it then? Confused

I really don't see the big deal with poo in bins as long as it's appropriately wrapped up. Unless you're sticking your hand in the bin or licking the contents, what's the harm?

Sux2buthen · 21/08/2023 07:33

😂😂the absolute indignation of people on this website about the most random things.
That being said, it sometimes makes an amusing read

Guavafish1 · 21/08/2023 07:35

People do it regularly in our area, the council have taken away half the public bins now

EhrlicheFrau · 21/08/2023 07:36

I think perhaps as a one off I would think it's ok, especially if it's a bin which doesn't get that much footfall. If it is a regular occurrence then she really needs to start finding a better way of managing her waste/generating less waste. She needs to remember that public bins are intended for many different people to be able to put small quantities of rubbish in, not for a few to put lots in!
Is this a reverse perchance?

PuddlesPityParty · 21/08/2023 07:41

LooselyBasedOnAMadeUpStory · 20/08/2023 22:45

Same here. It’s our fortnightly collection day on Tuesday and we have one full bin bag in it, that’s it.
We recycle everything else, including soft plastics, so our bin never gets full.

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It depends doesn’t it. We can only recycle tins and glass in my LA. In fact when I first moved here they actually took out the plastics in my recycling bin and put them on top of it 😳