:swear: I have a rather annoying situation I'd like to vent, and hopefully elicit some advice for...

First some brief background: I live in a small English city, and like the rest of the country our trash is collected every two weeks. Each household is given a reasonably-sized rubbish bin, and additional ones can be purchased through the local city council (for an outrageous sum of ￡50, at least - which I found out to my dismay when our own bin was stolen one night...) Eco collection happens on the alternating weeks, with recycling in clear sacks left on the curb and garden waste placed into a separate green-colored bin (also costing an extra ￡50, and not provided by the council.) Anyone not following these procedures has their collection ignored, and in some cases can receive a fine. Generally, it's a system that works.

But apparently this is not enough for some people, since over the past few months I've been finding more trash in our bin than I ever put there - one of my neighbours has been dumping their crap in with ours. At first I thought it would be a one-off or temporary thing, but it has continued and the last straw came tonight when I found they had filled to the brim with trash not just our regular bin but also the green garden waste bin. Which, of course, I had to empty and sort out at 2AM when I put the bins out onto the street. :flame:

So, being the sneaky sod that I am, I decided to have a midnight dumpster-dive (it's my own bin, after all) and see if I could identify which house the garbage originated from. Lo and behold, I found just what I wanted and more: a complete delivery invoice with their name and address, parts of a personal diary, a sketchbook containing architecture coursework, bank statements, and a photocopy of their visa application! (In fact, it seems to be three girls who are the culprits, since the items in the trash have included many feminine products, and I've found personal details on all three of them. Two appear to be sisters, and all are students at a local university.)

And now I am presented with how to deal with this, once and for all.

I am sick of having to deal with their rubbish, and I intend to confront them about the issue in the morning. I'm still unsure how best to proceed, however - I don't want to involve the police if I don't have to, since it does seem like a rather trivial issue, but is there some specific legal precedent or procedure I can refer to which could support my grievance more definitively? If they are unwilling to stop dumping their garbage, what course should I take? (Please don't post any illegal suggestions, except in jest - I'm neither interested in petty retribution nor is it permitted on these forums.)

Let this also be a lesson for everyone: always shred your sensitive documents before throwing them out! You never know what creep might have too much free time and your personal details in their hands... Especially if you're dumb enough to put it right in their bin!

tl;dr version: A neighbour has been dumping their garbage into our bin and I'm sick of it, how should I proceed on confronting them about it?

Why do I have this intense feeling of deja vu all of a sudden. :bonk:

Personally I would knock on their door, show them their papers you now have with personal information and tell them you WILL inform the police if it keeps happening.

Knock on their door and talk to them about it like an advlt.

Whenever I have friends over and we polish off a slab, extra bottles, etc go into neighbours' recycle bins as well. Same deal if they hold dinner parties or whatever. Rubbish is rubbish, as long as the right stuff ends up in the right bins, its all good.

Nice one. Funnily enough I was thinking about this earlier today because I don't have this problem--unlike a previous place where I lived, where if I didn't retrieve my bin quickly enough it would be spirited away and would reappear a couple of days full of builder's waste and crap like that. The sod would even steal it from the front of my house on occasion (I lived in a terrace with no useful route to the back) and do the same thing.

Never found out who it was, so I'm glad your experience has turned out to be more useful. You could always just report them to the council since it probably counts as fly-tipping; though ideally they'd quit all this silliness with rubbish quotas and none of this would be necessary. Although you say it's not a big deal, at best it's inconveniencing you and at worst you're potentially responsible for anything questionable they're dumping in your bin.

Well, being the man of action that I am, I say go tell them to stop, and if they say anything other than ok, call the police as your standing in their door.

Mature option: tell them you'll inform authorities




Fun option: stink bomb their house

This. And if you could I'd put a lock on the bin.

Or a lock on their house, after the stink bomb hehe.

Oh God, and you sifted through that? You creepy, bro.

set up camera
???
dead bodies everywhere...

First ask them not to do it.
If it happens again, dump it on their doorstep.

Whilst said feminine hygiene products are on fire.

Buy a lock, lock said thing up after your done putting stuff in there. Let the people picking up your trash know where they can find the key and use it, or open it up for them when they come. Do this for a little while, and then one day just take the locks off. If it starts again get mad.

I swear there was a thread simlar to this a few months ago.

The best option would be rigging you garbage can with explosives, so when they open it they learn a lesson they wont soon forget.

If you can't seem to find any explosives, rig up a spring loaded plate that triggers when the lid is opened. Place a few raccoons or other pest animals onto the plate, leave it out for the night, and never worry about it again.

You too? I have a feeling I read this exact same thread.

read the diary, then take somethng topical from that diary. knock on their door and start speaking personal information about them at them despite you being relative strangers. then hand them the evidence and tell them to stop using your bin or you will call the council or who ever to demand some punitive enforcement be laid upon them. you have grounds to demand that such should be done since they have already caused you finiancial damages.

Just ask them out

Technically, this isn't dumpster diving. DDing is what people do to get food and freebies.

for one, you should have never went through their garbage; you'd not want them to do that to you so why do it to them. and then post this here on the internet... it itself a less than fair thing to do. but since you did, it was better off to at least leave out what you did find out about them. i think you should collect all those things you found, give them back, tell them what you just told us and explain to them that if it was that easy for you to gather this much info on them from their trash, how much more trouble they can get into if someone with more malicious intents and skill went through their garbage.

now, the problem itself. ideally, 1)offer and if they do want it, purchase them another bin--shows you are not just out to get them back for what they did to you but instead want to resolve the issue, grievance, whichever it is--and 2)explain to them that you have a problem with them using your garbage container and and that they put garbage in the green waste and you had to sort it out. IMPORTANT: FIRST offer and if they do want it, purchase it. THEN explain your grievance. don't forget to let them explain their side of the story--again, it shows you are not just out to get them back for what they did to you but instead want to resolve the issue, grievance, whichever it is. in the end, mature people will understand your frustrations and will offer their apology and or comply with your request that they stay away from your bin. less mature will tell you off(this is based on the fact that humans nature and then there is that i hear interesting things about how immature and weak morally teen in there are). but you have to take the risk. or they will just continue doing it. i'd say ignore it, but that won't solve anything.

now, i understand that offering to purchase them a new bin seems counter productive and counter intuitive and you'd probably not wan to do that. offer to split the cost 50/50, then? the idea is to conquer evil with good. you might end up sacrificing the price of the container, but in the end gain a better relationship with them.

yeah. but in this case, the beneficial find was the sensitive personal info. and it is a more clever title.

The only way to settle this is through dumpster wars. You must take your dumps in their bin from now on until they cease to empty their rubbish in yours.

What? He shouldn't be allowed to search through garbage they put in his bin?

I think Manuel read that incorrectly. They put their garbage in his bin. So of course he has every right (both morally and legally :grad: ) to wade through it to find the culprits.

sorting is of course the right. but nothing else.

ok, so two things then, sorting and identifying who's. but again, nothing else.

But they put their stuff in his garbage...

It's like someone disposes his bag on my terrace. It's human nature to check what's in the bag.