trash trespassers

Casadena

Dear Prudence,

Since our kids are now grown and moved out, my wife and I don’t produce nearly the amount of garbage that we once did. This has led to an unexpected and frustrating response from our next-door neighbors. I’ve caught both of them throwing bags of their garbage into our container on our security cam on the night before garbage pickup. I’ve tried approaching them and asking them not to do this, and the response has been that we shouldn’t care because we have the space and they have three little kids. That’s not the point. The neighbors are taking advantage of a service we’re paying for instead of ordering an extra container for themselves. My wife says we should ignore it. I’m ready to march out there the next time it happens and dump the bags of trash all over their lawn. What can be done to shut down this entitled behavior?

CharmedPam

This isn’t a hill to die on unless it’s a week I have a TON. If they opened it up, saw it was full and didn’t put their own in, it would be fine. If there’s room, add it. I’ve got bigger fish to fry. 

MyNameIsNot

I wish this was my biggest problem

ei34

I need more.  By me, garbage pickup is M-W-F (with recycling Wed as well), and the sanitation truck stops at everyone's house, automatically.  And there isn't a limit to the amount of trash each household is allowed to put out.  I mean, I'm sure there is, but everyone usually puts out between one bag and one can (3-4 bags' worth).

If the reason that the sanitation company doesn't pick up the neighbor's trash is that in their area it's a paid service, it's time for the neighbors to start paying.  But if it's bc there's some sort of rule of one can per household, and the LW's have the space in their can, I'd say that as long as the neighbor's bags are properly tied / they're not putting in anything that would involve a liquid spill, etc, I don't see a problem with letting the neighbors, who produce more trash, couldn't have some space in the can.  

levioosa

@ei34 wait, you have trash pick up three times a week?! We get it once a week. 

This is one of those issues where I think it becomes a territorial thing, and I kind of get it. Our neighbors all suck. They are all flipped houses which has become home to 8-15 adults per single family home each, PLUS next to us they operate multiple businesses out of the home as well. Now we have to fight to have our parking spot in front of our home. Is it technically public street parking? Yes, but this is abnormal. We shouldn't have to park six houses down from our own house just because we're surrounded by slum lords and the city doesn't seem to care about permitting processes. 

CharmedPam

This sounds like something based on how trash is paid/picked up. My area is weird and you can buy sanitation stickers @ $3.50 each OR pay it monthly on the invoice. I’m a sticker person because I don’t have a lot being one person. The company also HAS to see the sticker. I left a bag in there, it flipped over, covering the sticker and they didn’t pick it up. So it would irk me if I left the bag in the bin, sticker side up and someone dropped a non stickered bag over it. But my area is probably not the norm with having either or as a garbage p/u option. 

flantastic

At my ILs', they get one of those flip-lid cans per week and it has to be able to close. You can set out up to two extra bags per week, but they have to be tagged and you have to pay for the tags. Sounds like here you can pay (weekly? monthly?) per alotted/requested cans.

I would not see this as my biggest problem, but golly would it have been so hard for the neighbors to come at it differently? "Hey, we notice you guys usually have extra can space; could we throw an extra bag of ours in occasionally?" Not a neighbor war I'm going to start, but I can see why LW is at least mildly annoyed with the entitlement. And maybe would have responded differently if it had been an ask.