To use dead neighbours bins

[Lovelyskyx]

My elderly neighbour sadly suddenly. died a few months ago, and I always used to use his bins (with his permission) as he had very little waste and we have a big family and many pets.
I haven't put anything in them since he passed as it felt disrespectful, even though I know he would say yes if I asked him and he was here, but we have a few extra bags of rubbish and the bins are being collected today, so I popped them in and put his bin out.
Now I'm feeling bad and worrying that his relatives would take it badly if they saw (they come round once or twice a week , but I haven't had chance to really talk to them or ask permission as it wasn't on my mind). , I'll obviously pop the bin back as soon as it's emptied.
Am I terrible for this?

Not at all.

It's fine. I've done similar.

Not at all but you need to consider a long term plan for reducing how much waste you have ready for when the house is sold and you can't use the bins any more.

Assuming you’ll put them out and bring them back in, I can’t see the problem.

Absolutely, we have 20+ pets that all produce bedding and waste so it's hard.

I’d carry on using them but maybe you could put a note through the door with your phone number so that whoever is looking after the house can call you when you when they want you to stop. Using the bins makes the house look lived in and that’s better than it looking like an empty house.

i wouldn’t put any of the pet waste in his bin though.

I'm not sure what pets you have, but if there are over 20 that produce waste I'm assuming things like rabbits, hamsters etc.

Their waste can be composted, and so can stuff like sawdust. That should help a fair bit.

I agree that it's OK for now. Try catch someone when they visit the property to run it by them

We have four dogs, six cats and the rest are guineas/ rats.
That's a good idea, thank you x

As pp have said - carry on using the bins for now. Is there anyway of getting a larger bin from the council? Mine does one for larger families.

Aww
Don't worry OP , put your bags in the bin .

Me too, but actually many, many more cats than that. I have permission to use four different bins on my street - people who don't produce much rubbish themselves, and I make use of any empty property. And I still sometimes need to take a load to the tip.

Ask the council for another bin. You will probably have to pay. Using next door’s bin isn’t a long term solution and actually you shouldn’t be doing it.

You definitely need to ask the council for another bin and pay for it. Def pop a note through for family, as they may need to use the bins when clearing the house. PS get a hotbin to compost as well but with that volume it still might be tricky.

When my friend's grandmother died, years ago now, it took months and months for her house to sell.

Because the house was empty the family were paying either reduced council tax, or no council tax (I can't remember) and that meant there were no bin collections. I know this because I visited the house with her and she told me not to put rubbish in the bin.

So I'd be wary of filling the neighbour's bin, because it might not be emptied, or it might mean the family getting charged for it if you put it out for collection.

I did it when living next to rental houses that were vacant for a while. As long as you put it back, its fine.

Are you an animal rescue? Do you live on a large plot of land? That's an insane number of pets

We had over six cats at one point, its not uncommon. We weren't a rescue either, just had a mother who liked multiple cats lol and we grew up with them.

Surely unless you're in a truly massive property your house would stink to high heaven? Particularly if litter trays for that many. I'm picturing op in a 3 bed terrace like me mind you she may be in a 7 bed detached with a couple of acres which makes it less mad

No not at all - your lovely neighbour would want you to do this. He’d want to help in any way he could 😊

I would not continue to use the bins (especially for animal waste) unless I had first discussed it with the executors or relatives and they were happy for me to do so. I think it would be a bit cheeky not to ask them.

The owner of the house is responsible for whatever is in the bin. I looked into this after I saw my neighbours putting their rubbish in my bin. Our council are very strict about what goes into each bin and you see the bin men looking into the bins before they are emptied.

No I think most of them went out in the garden, so we had no extra waste to deal with. My mum only has two cats now.

You need to get another bin sorted asap. Not quite the same but an elderly relative had an agreement with her neighbour that they could park on her land as she didn't drive. When she died the neighbour was very put out when family members who were clearing the house and who did drive took 'his space' as he expected the agreement to continue. You sound a caring person but sadly the neighbour is no longer able to make this decision and it isn't a guarantee the new owners will agree to the bin usage.

@OP do you not pay for your bins or bin collection? we pay an a yearly charge for the collection and if you want more than the standard one bin you have to pay for that as well. I'm just wondering wouldnt you have to pay to have your neighbours bin being collected?