How to Deal with Neighbours Placing Bins in Front of Your Bin?

Long story short.

I live next to an apartment building on a main road and they have been placing their bins in my driveway in front of where my bins are. The result is their bins are collected and mine aren't. They seem to place them out around 5AM whilst I am sleeping and just before the truck comes in the morning whilst I am placing mine around 10PM at night the previous day.

Before anyone asks why I can't put the bins elsewhere such as the nature strip. There is always a car parked in front of my house which does not even belong to me. At one point someone put a trailer there too, but we had it towed away as it was affecting the collection of the bins (council authorised this).

Is this something to take up with the council or is this an issue where I need to get a solicitor to write to the neighbour's strata manager?


New information. They are placing their bins onto the road when they are doing this.

https://imgur.com/FoNebS0

Solid colored bins = neighbour
Hollow colored bins = mine.

Comments

  • +6

    need photo

    • +6

      Or @MS Paint diagram

    • +1

      need google street view too.

      • +1

        Live street view.

    • -1

      Nah no photo. That's a guarantee doxing. MS paint diagram is acceptable.

      • +11

        https://imgur.com/FoNebS0

        Something like that, I can't draw. x_X

        My question is why don't they use their own driveway…

        • You should make the car on the road to look like what you've illustrated :), because they are blocking.

        • the car reminded me of a Space Invader - https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/fictionalcrossover/images/…

        • +6

          Call the council. Tell them your bins didn't get picked up and have them pick them up again. Repeat as needed until they realise that they need to empty ALL the bins, not just the ones at the front.

        • +1

          Your bins aren't in line with the rest of the bins, why don't you try putting your bins in line with the rest of them? Or if they're putting their bins in your driveway you could put yours in their driveway, just make sure you don't block it.

    • +1

      Definitely council issue

  • +2

    Do you place your bins immediately adjacent to the road, in that there is no space between your bin and the road?

    • I was thinking the same thing, the bins will never be collected if they aren't right at the edge of the road

      • Nope, they are placing their bins onto the road and obstructing my driveway too. I'm not sure if there is any legal remedy since I'm doing it myself (obstructing my own driveway as opposed to placing them onto the road).

        • +19

          Not sure what the legal/correct way to deal with it is, and I doubt the following would work because it should be obvious that they're doing the wrong thing, but have you tried taping a note to the top of their bin to tell them to please not put their bins on your property?
          Or if you feel like going the aggressive route, empty all your bin bags into their bin when you take your bin back to your house?

          • +4

            @Quantumcat: I'm sort of cool with it, but it has been happening for months and I believe the council knows about it since there is footage from the truck since they do it in-house.

            I just need to put it in the portal and someone comes another 3 days later..

            It's definitely costing the council money, but common sense doesn't really prevail. Seriously they should be using their own driveway… I don't think the council can mandate where the bins are placed, can they?

            • +11

              @JaneSong: Keep hassling the council like you have been. After a while, the driver will know they'll need to get out of the truck to empty your bin every week.

              I've noticed that some drivers will deliberately skip your bin if your bin is near empty. How full is your bin every week?

              • +1

                @skid: genuinely curious, how does the driver know your bin is near empty when most people keep their bin lid shut?

                • @Jasongood: They rock the bin, I presume. I was complaining to the council for the first few weeks before I realised why.

                  • @skid: Never heard of such a thing, it just sounds like they don't know how to empty bins.

  • +5

    Hmmm. Maybe 5AM bin-taker-outer owned the trailer and is pissed off?

    • +2

      We got consent from that apartment block to do it, it was affecting both of us.

  • +18

    Speak to the council, it's their bins their service after all.

    If they didn't collect, you call them to come back to empty your bin.

  • +9

    Set an alarm next week for 5:15am and get out there and position your bins to make sure they get collected.

    • +4

      Hmm.. This might be worse than my current situation where I just go onto the council website and submit that the bins were missed.

      • -5

        So you don’t have a real problem if waking up and dealing with it is too hard

        • +12

          Why? OP doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong, it's the d*cks next door being inconsiderate. OP should either talk to the neighbours or council about it. Placing bins blocking someone's driveway is not right thing to do in the first place.

          • -1

            @kaleidoscope: So op is already telling council. Then comes here for ideas. Gets an idea to talk to the person doing it and says ‘nah, easier to keep telling council’

            What does op want? If its too hard to wake up early once to have a conversation with the person doing it, then it’s not really a problem, is it.

            • -1

              @Awoke: You never talk to neighbours about problems. They've already proven they're selfish anti-social dogs by knowingly blocking other bins. So talking to them only identifies you as the first target every time someone else "deals" with their selfishness in a different way. Every other neighbour becomes innocent, while you cop the lot though you "did the right thing."

              • @[Deactivated]: And then you expect someone else to fix your problems for you

                • @Awoke: Oh, I definitely solve my own problems. ;-)

    • +26

      I'd go out there and take their bins 500m down the road behind a tree or something.

      What a low bunch of pricks.

  • +6

    set it on fire (or maybe not)
    .

    • +1

      or move them to block the width of the road?

  • +127

    Empty your bin into their bin after theirs has been emptied.

    • +4

      This is the correct answer

    • +17

      And then smear dog shit on their bin handles

      • +4

        and leave a horse's head in their bed.

        • I like it! Making sure they are too scared to retaliate and just move out instead

        • What's he doing in their bed?

        • instead..leave the trashbin in their bed

      • +1

        Just smear some shit and call it dog shit.

        • true dont have to wait for your dog to provide smearing material

    • This is a great idea but op may have to bin dive to get his rubbish out…. unless he's Hercules and can lift and tip his bin into theirs!

  • +10

    Start Putting your trash in their bin

  • +9

    Wrap their bin in warning tape.

    • +25

      Cable tie their empty bins together!

      • Back-to-back. ;-D

        (Makes it impossible to move them. One rolls, the other digs in.)

  • +41

    Write to the apartment body corporate and say that they are obstructing your driveway by putting the bins there and as such it is illegal to do this. Put the letter in the body corporate letter box and see what happens.

    If they do nothing then make an official complaint to the council that the apartment is obstructing your driveway with there bins as you need to move them to get your car out after the bins are collected.

    • +5

      Body corporate taking swift action! Lmao okay

      • What swift action are you talking about…..

  • +21

    Most people who live in apartments, especially tenants don't have any idea how garbage collection works or don't even know it affects you.

    If you're happy to have the neighbours put their bins out on your driveway (I wouldn't), next time it happens stick a note on their bin. They probably don't know it affects you.

    Me, I'd be asking that all your neighbours stop putting their bins on your driveway via the strata manager. No need to get lawyers involved.

    • +1

      Tenants don’t care coz it aint their problem

      • +5

        Some do and some don’t.

        They may not know they are causing an issue. Most people, including tenants aren’t a holes.

        • +1

          You assumed I was saying something I wasn’t. In an apartment block, it is, generally speaking, not the tenants responsibility to put bins out. So why should they care?

          • +1

            @Awoke: Good point.

            I thought this particular bin was placed there by the tenant.

          • @Awoke: It is usually the tenants responsibility to put their own bins out themselves in most apartment/townhouse buildings here in Qld.

            • +2

              @Leanne59: Townhouse yes, apartments no as they aren’t individually numbered (by unit) bins

              • @Awoke: Hmm no, my daughter and her husband live in an apartment here in Brisbane and they all have to take their numbered bins in and out themselves.

                • @Leanne59: Ok, that’s different because they have numbered bins that are dedicated to their own unit. Not common in nsw

  • +25

    Move their emptied bin a block or 2 away and drop at some rando's nature strip.

  • +12

    check also who is actually placing the bins whether its the
    - apartment owners (my parents do this as only 4 apartments and they have their own bins) (check if the bins have painted their own numbers)
    - strata does it (they hire someone or someone in the apartment) or
    - the council does it (in my council someone goes around getting bins in and out for the garbo)

    once you have figured who is doing it then u can write a message them them not to block driveway and also have the bins in single line

  • -3

    Don't be so nice that they chew you, Don't be so ugly that they spit you.

    • +5

      Wrong forum reply?

  • +13

    Drive through the row of neighbours bins blocking your driveway like they are bowling pins

    Then go back and put your uncollected rubbish into your neighbours bin while it's lying flat on the ground

  • +3

    Leave a Note advising to put bins beside yours otherwise the note will be POSTAL if it continues.

    You can understand how people end up dead.

  • +4

    I would dump my bin into theirs. Problem solved.

    • +4

      Don’t harder, work smarter, never take your bins out, just use apartments bins.

  • +5

    Go to Bunnings, get a long metal chain and padlock. Lock them all together. Bonus points if you have a power pole nearby.

    • Why the bonus points… is he throwing the other end of the chain over the power lines? ;-D

  • When you don't know what to do do a number 2?

  • +18

    Make your bins colored bins instead of hollow colored bins.

    • ^This!

    • +1

      Even better - coloured bins.

  • +7

    orrr
    once theirs is collected (but not yours) .. take a set of their bins and put yours into their building

  • +3

    Definitely contact Council. They can make the area “no parking” for a one hour period each week to ensure that no cars will be parked there and that there is plenty of space for all the bins from the apartment block.

    Out of curiosity - how many apartments and how wide is the frontage they have?

    • +1

      There should be a lot of space on their side as their frontage is around 20m but I suspect they are too lazy to roll it over the grass or all the way to the end to their driveway.

      There are around 12 apartments in that building.

      • +1

        Put yours in front of their property at the far end and see what they do?

    • +1

      “no parking” for a one hour period each week

      Won't work. The bin collecting truck won't be able to guarantee that they will be there during the designated hour. Council will instead make the area no standing for at least 6 hours.

      • Works all over my LGA 🤷🏼‍♀️

        • +1

          My council made 8 hour no standing zone on the bin collection day for 12 houses. 😢

          • @RSmith: Yeah that’s inefficient. Especially when it can be done better and they’re just not trying to improve it.

  • +3

    I’d contact the strata manager first. Failing that I would get up early and move their bins out of the way and onto their property. If they don’t get collected a couple of weeks in a row they will probably get the message

  • +23

    Grow a set. Wake up early and confront the person doing it - in a nice and polite way of course.

    • ^^ This.

    • +6

      Bonus points if you ninja up and jump out of your own garbage bin as they do it!

    • Common sense isn't so common.

      Why do we revert to passive-aggressive action before diplomacy? -___-

      • +1

        For me, getting up at 5am would be the problem. But I'm lazy…

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