Putting rubbish in someone else’s bin

[Isthisstillmymidlifecrisis]

Today it was the black wheely day. There had been a crash on the main road and the bin collection was late. The rubbish collection team are using pretty good but today have been more slapdash than usual and have dropped loads of rubbish, which is now collecting in the kerb gutters and drains.
I’m on a dog walk and picked up a load of the rubbish (sweet wrappers, cat food pouch and crisp packet). I put it in a spare unused dog poo bag and then put it in a black wheely bin that was still in the pavement. I don’t know it it was their rubbish but it’s not mine and it would have gone down the drain if not picked up. I was about 20 mins away from home and there’s not a public bin for some distance (and I’m not heading that way).

i usually pick up litter - isn’t that what we’re meant to do?

Anyway, the occupants of the house just came out screaming at me for putting my dog sh*t in their bin. I said “no it’s not dog mess but litter that I’ve picked up from the street by their house ” but they wouldn’t listen and said I was disgusting.

I didn’t stay and listen to them ranting but I do walk along that road at least twice a day and am now feeling rage full that I was trying to do a good thing and got yelled at.

Was I unreasonable to use their bin? what would you have done?

I’d of reported it to the council for the cleaning team to deal with as it was mess made by the bin men.

We actually have an app to report issues like this. Means the bin men also get a reminder to be cleaner while working.

I can see why they thought it was dog shit though.

Yeah but leaving it for the council to pick up tomorrow isn’t gonna happen AND it’s raining so would have gone down the drain.
Don’t people pick up litter ? What are you meant to do with it?

I despair sometimes. What we need is more people like you who see a problem and think how can I make things better?
Instead everyone expects other people/the council etc to sort it out.
Well done op; ignore the miserable git.

its not their bin

I pick up bits that have blown directly into my garden and along the boundary wall but otherwise we are advised to report it since it’s their staff who made the mess.

I'm with you. It really doesn't matter if a few bits of rubbish go in any bin.

no good deed goes unpunished op

I can see why they thought it was dog shit, and some people are weird about their bins. I’d have carried it home or to a public bin.

If you want to get technical about it, it could apparently be considered fly tipping, so not allowed. However what kind of miserable person would actually throw a fit over you putting something like that in their bin. It's not like your chucking a massive bag in there,taking up space.

Like you say, you are just trying to help out keeping the neighbourhood clean and what else are you meant to do with it. I do the same as you Op when I see rubbish lying around, rather than leave it around for wildlife to find or to polute the environment, I pick it up and put it in the nearest bin, because no I'm not going to walk around the whole hood with my arms full of other people's rubbish until I reach home and can throw it away there.

OK technically the council are meant to deal with it, but it's just common decency to want to keep the street clean when you see it and not have it blow away or go down the drain. If everyone did it, this wouldn't be a problem.

You did a good thing by pickling up litter but you either need to take it home or put it in a public bin. You don’t put it in a complete stranger’s bin.

I do this. Pick up a random bit of plastic and put it in the closest bin. No one has ever told me off and I wouldn’t expect it. If they thought it was dog poo I can see why they’d be upset though. I’d probably just have put the eg random crisp packet abd plastic bottle in by themselves, without the dog poo bag

Of course it looked like you were putting dog shit in it.

You shouldn’t have used their bin I don’t think. Although you tried to solve a problem, you did involve something (an item) that belongs/is meant for the use of that particular household.

It irritates me when people put small stuff in my bin as I’ll put bags on top, they’ll squash the item/s to the sides or bottom and then they don’t come out when the bin is emptied. And then I’ll have to do bin fishing at a later date. I only put stuff in large bin bags in my bin and don’t want anyone meddling with my system and creating work for me.

so overall, either take the rubbish home with you or leave it.

well your sentiment is along the right lines, but op used someone’s private bin and that isn’t ok

Even if it was dogshit, what's the issue? Not like they sit and have a cup of tea in the bin?

Really ? We had to buy our bins when we moved in so I believe they are ours

This

It irritates me when people put small stuff in my bin as I’ll put bags on top, they’ll squash the item/s to the sides or bottom and then they don’t come out when the bin is emptied. And then I’ll have to do bin fishing at a later date. I only put stuff in large bin bags in my bin and don’t want anyone meddling with my system and creating work for me.

Also
It was their private bin not a public bin.

This would give me the rage, too.

YANBU for picking up rubbish
But YABU for putting it in someone's bin.

I live in a rural area, walkers are always putting stuff in my bins. The problem is they pay no attention to which bin, so I'm always having to fish stuff out and put it in the right bin. I even once had an entire shopping bag of food wrappers and nappies put in my garden waste bin which was already completely full of grass cuttings, so dead obvious it was the wrong bin. We get fined here for wrong stuff in wrong bin. Not saying you got it wrong OP, but honestly, I wouldn't use someone else's bin, I do think it's a bit rude. They don't know what you put in there and it could've been a problem they needed to sort. I appreciate that in this instance it probably wasn't the case.
I do think you did a nice thing on picking up the litter though. I normally just take it home with me when I do a litter pick, and put it in my bin, which is what our local council advise.

It wasn't shit. It was general rubbish and it was outside the persons house. I'd have been grateful

@p1l1l
Personally I'd be really grateful that someone cleared up meds outside my house. I'd hate mess all over the area outside my house. I'd rather it went in my bin

Yabu. I'd have carried it home or put it in a council bin. You don't put it into someone s bin. Around here if you the wrong rubbish the bin men don't empty it and you got to wait 3 weeks until the next delivery. It's very rude to use someones bin.

It was litter, not shit.

@Isthisstillmymidlifecrisis I litter pick, and when I do it properly I use a bag and bring it home to my own bin. I think nothing of picking a crisp packet or plastic bottle off the street and putting it in the nearest house bin out on the street on bin day though. My guess is they thought it was actual dog shit and got annoyed (I couldn't get that angry about bagged up shit but can understand people would) and then didn't feel able to back down. You're doing a good thing and I hope this won't stop you. In an ideal world we'd report it to the council and they'd deal with it but we have to be realistic and picking litter up makes the environment nicer for everyone. For what it's worth I get loads of lovely comments from people when I'm out picking litter, so most do appreciate it.

there are surely public bins you could have put it in?

was it the right bin you put it in?

I’ve had a dog shit bag put it n my paper bin that exploded when I didn’t know it was there. The occupants didn’t know what you put in the bag in their bin so were right to ask

and yes their bin cos when something goes wrong with the collection it’s for them to sort out