# Dear Neighbor: What the heck is in those trash cans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314 "2008-12-15T22:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/1 "2008-12-15T22:54:42Z")
I like you guys, really I do. You don’t bug me, like the other neighbors do. You don’t have crazy drunken screaming fights or own a monster truck that you rev up at odd hours, like the dumbasses down the block. Your kids are respectful of everyone’s property, they never dart out behind my car, and I don’t mind at all when they run onto my lawn. Your dog is quite nice, as well. She makes a funny ‘BORK! BORK!’ sound when she barks, and never craps in my yard, even though she’s not on a leash. But what on Earth is in the trash? Every week you guys have 2 giant rolling bins of trash. They are so full that the lids can’t come close to closing, sometimes so much so that they just hang over backward. These are big bins, too. They come up to my sternum. I think they are 96 gallons or so. And heavy, to boot. I’ve seen you move them, and they aint full of feathers. I’m starting to feel kind of inferior. Just asking. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/2 "2008-12-15T23:11:03Z")
How many kids, and what ages? You’d be surprised at the amount of room soiled diapers take up in a trash can. And if they have a lot of kids, or even kids that are at huge appetite ages (teenage boys, for example, can put away gallons and gallons of milk each week), snacks and beverages can add up. Do they recycle? Could be lots of plastic products. Even with those possibilities, I do admit that that is a lot of trash. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/3 "2008-12-15T23:18:45Z")
In my current neighborhood, I’d suspect that the neighbors are doing some remodeling that they’re trying to keep under the radar in order to avoid having to deal with code/permit/tax issues. They’re putting the construction debris out in the trash in order to avoid using a dumpster, which might attract the attention of the powers-that-be (building inspector, tax assessor, homeowners association, etc.). In my old neighborhood, I’d suspect an illegal rental (if it’s a single-family home), a rental with more tenants than allowed by the lease (if it’s an apartment), or an unlicensed home-based business. All of these could be expected to generate more trash than the legitimate residents, so they might try to conceal this by cramming it all into two bins. Surely someone will be along shortly to provice a more creative or amusing explanation. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/4 "2008-12-15T23:40:33Z")
Can’t you sneak out in the dead of night and have a look? ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/5 "2008-12-15T23:41:41Z")
They don’t recycle, so far as I can tell. There are only 2 kids, aged 5-9 (I’m bad at ages). So no diapers or rapid growth, I think. No illegal sublet-no extra cars or people. She doesn’t work and I know about his job, so I doubt it’s a hidden business. I don’t think it’s yard waste or construction debris since it’s every week. Curiouser and curiouser. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/6 "2008-12-15T23:46:33Z")
I’ve seen enormous amounts of trash at homes where they didn’t recycle and they bought drinks in bottles and ate stuff like take out pizza. They of course didn’t crush any of the garbage down either. Any leftovers went in the trash, and food weighs a lot. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/7 "2008-12-16T10:31:04Z")
No cardboard recycling here (landlord takes care of trash, and I’m almost 100% sure nothing that goes into the “glass” or “cans”, the only two containers, even gets sorted). I purposely don’t get pizza delivered only because the effort required to cut up a box into chunks small enough so that one garbage bag isn’t 90% one pizza box. Bags are expensive and the landlord’s trash guy shows up not all that often to clean out the smallish shed thing attached to the place that has four apartments in it. And lazy people? My neighbors have a dumpster. All the time I see full size large cardboard boxes overflowing from it. Lazy people + lazy peoplelings = cardboard boxes, pizza boxes, a few gallon milk jug containers, bam. One large trash container full. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/8 "2008-12-16T10:33:52Z")
I really can’t say anything. When I lived at home we averaged about 9 bags of trash a week. Our record was 34 in one week. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/9 "2008-12-16T13:46:10Z")
My neighbors are the same way…tons of trash each week, including chairs and household stuff. I remember one week when there was so much stuff on the curb that my mom insisted they must be planning to move and cleaning through things. Then when there was just as much stuff three weeks later, we decided they just have a lot of people going through a lot of stuff. I’ve lost track of how many people live there…at least two adults, and two-four teenagers, with lots of friends visiting all the time…there are always at least four-six cars in the drive. And the dogs…three huge chocolate labs (the puppy is now an adult) and last month they added a smaller yappy thing. So at least four dogs, four fully grown people, and tons of friends coming and going. It may just be a timing thing, but I never see anyone carrying in any bags of shopping, though! So when my mom complains about the rare time our household of three adults and three indoor cats generates more than two 13-gallon kitchen can bags of trash and a small bin of recyclables in a week, I just point across the street at the five huge garbage cans and piles of bags. ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/10 "2008-12-16T13:48:15Z")
Could it be something where they have an older kid, or friend, that is having a rough time. While it may not seem like a lot, the money saved from paying for trash service adds up. It is possible that one big bin is theirs, the other is theirs as well but the trash within is not. I know of several people who have done this while living near parents, or in some cases extended family like cousins. Before trash night, the trash would just be brought over and left behind the house, then put out on the curb as if it had been there all along. This would only work if the trash people charge the same no matter how many bags are in the yard…but it is possible. Brendon Small ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/11 "2008-12-16T18:10:53Z")
Careful, the last person that got too nosy poking around those trash bins ended up in one. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/12 "2008-12-17T01:10:30Z")
Ever see the movie The 'Burbs with Tom Hanks? They had these creepy neighbors who would come out at night, put the trash in the trunk of their car, back it down to the end of the driveway, then put the trash in the bins and drive back up. They turned out to be digging up bodies or something. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/13 "2008-12-17T04:39:50Z")
Our trash is strange because it’s so small and so heavy. Cat litter. A nosy neighbor would regret peeking into our trashbags! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/14 "2008-12-17T08:56:37Z")
I have a neighbor who throws out furniture . . . like a room full, every week. Appliances too. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/15 "2008-12-17T13:48:06Z")
My neighbor (couple, children grown and moved out) regularly throw out tons of stuff. I don’t get it-they seem to have barrels full of junk. And i am quite sure they are not remodelling…I have no idea where all of this stuff comes from! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/16 "2008-12-17T14:22:39Z")
When we started recycling boxes (like cereal boxes, etc.), our trash volume was cut in half or more. We used to have an overflowing trash bin each week, now it’s half full (we were also able to switch from a big kitchen trash can to an under-the-sink can). I would imagine that if we were throwing away those boxes along with soda bottles, milk jugs, beer cans, etc, we’d fill two a week, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/17 "2008-12-17T16:33:37Z")
In the interest of fighting ignorance, I second the suggestion of a midnight expedition to find out. With pics, please. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/18 "2008-12-17T16:51:55Z")
Years back, one of my neighbours (didn’t know who) had extra bags of garbage every week. (The city will collect two bags per week, extras have to have stickers applied, which cost $1.50 each.) Every week, I’d have somebody’s extra bags put out behind my house. If I left these there (without putting my own stickers on them,) trash would not be picked up, and the crows would make a damned mess with them. (They used tissue-thin, cheap ass bags - half the time before I knew they were out there, the crows would have the contents strewn all over the place.) Didn’t know where they were coming from, so I couldn’t put them back where they belonged - didn’t want to dump them on another innocent. What I did was start going through them methodically, trying to work out who was the culprit - but there were never identifying marks. It was easy to see why they always had too many bags - it was mostly take-out food, and disposable dishes. And diapers. For a couple of months, every time I had an extra bag, I put on rubber gloves and rooted through nasty decomposing food and shitty diapers, looking for incriminating evidence. Each time I found nothing, I rebagged the trash in heavy duty bags and put it in my garage. At the end of the summer, I had more than a dozen of them in there, festering. Finally, pay dirt! Addressed junk mail. Finally, I knew where those bags belonged. I marched them back onto their back drive way. I took my heavy-duty bags back, though. After a summer of having to clean up their garbage (and having it be _my_ problem,) I thought they deserved a little taste. It was quite an impressive pile. I never had any more extra bags in with my garbage. I don’t know if the time they spent having to deal with their own problem encouraged them to cut down a little on their ridiculously offensive waste, if they just knuckled down and payed the extra few bucks per week, or if they just removed _my_ house from their list of dumpees. (I’m still angry about that.) …anyway, my guess would be your neighbours may have a similar dish-doing/cooking aversion. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/19 "2008-12-17T17:41:43Z")
Do they get a lot of newspapers? Those can take up a lot of space, especially the Sunday edition. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314/20 "2008-12-17T20:56:20Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Our trash is strange because it’s so small and so heavy. Cat litter. A nosy neighbor would regret peeking into our trashbags! I did a seminar this summer on identity theft, and in doing the research for that, learned about mixing your regular trash with kitchen trash, cat litter, dirty diapers and other very gross material to make it less appealing. Robin [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-neighbor-what-the-heck-is-in-those-trash-cans/477314.md?page=2)