My neighbour operates an AirBnB out of the suite in his basement. Often, I find that my recycling bin is stuffed full of pizza boxes, newspapers, empty bottles, and whatnot, that I didn’t put there. They could easily put them in neighbour’s recycling bin, except that’s by his front door, and the way in and out of his BnB suite is off my driveway, where my bins are. They’re taking the easy way out, I guess, and it’s really no skin off my nose, but it bugs me when I cannot get rid of my own stuff because his AirBnBers have filled my bin.
Should I move my bins to the back of my back yard so they are not so attractive to his overnight guests? Should I say anything to the neighbour? Should I just shut up and deal?
ETA: Can a Mod change the spelling in the Topic Title to “recycling”? Thanks!
I’d like to talk to the neighbour. He’s rarely available. Oh, I do see lights in his house, but he doesn’t seem to operate on a regular schedule, and I’m not about to go knocking on his door late at night, when I see the lights in his kitchen go on. Maybe shift worker, that’s fine, I was one too, but I did have a few hours out of the day when I could talk to neighbours.
Really, he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of a “neighbourhood,” where we all know each other, and look out for each other. I know a lot of people on my street; this guy is a mystery.
This is the sort of thing that would immensely piss me off, especially if there wasn’t enough space left for my own recycling!
No, I wouldn’t relocate my bins except as a last resort – they’re presumably where they are because that’s the most convenient location for you. I would talk to the neighbour about it. He could presumably put up a sign in his BnB suite to use the proper bins and not the neighbour’s bins.
Hopefully that should work. You might also consider if there’s some relatively non-intrusive way you could padlock both bins without damaging them.
Saw this after I had composed my post. Either find his phone number and leave a message, or as a last resort put a note on his door that you want to talk to him.
I would try the lazy way first. Stick a note on your bins - " We hope you are having a great stay but these are not the bins for your AirBnB. They are by the front door where you are staying."
If that works you won’t have to talk to anyone. It would work on me if I was staying there.
My wife gets infuriated when other people use our bins. It doesn’t bother me much, although it would annoy me if the amount of garbage/recycling was significant (it’s not, in our case). I’d probably move the bins into our garage if I really cared about it.
Is it possible to send him a note through the AirBnB site? I would stop short of using the review feature, as it really can upset people’s income. But is there a messaging button?
FYI the way to make this happen is to report your OP, not put a note in the post body. The Mods don’t read threads for notes.
As to the topic, I’d be right pissed. But as suggested, I’d start nice and helpful. Message him several different ways since you don’t know what he pays attention to. Mark your bins. etc.
And check with the city about whether AirBnBs require licenses, does he have one, and is his building zoned & permitted to have two separate groups residing in it? A basement suite is especially dodgy from a fire code compliance perspective. At least here in dumbass 'Murrica where I am.
AirBnB (or equivalent) are inherent public nuisances. They can be innocuous enough to be tolerated; like the dog that occasionally barks. Or they can be the level of nuisance that can be, and should be, abated legally; like the dog that barks every minute it’s awake.
I would go with putting a notice on your bins letting the AirBnB guests know that they should not use them, and should use the ones by the front door. Also, put a polite note through his door letting him know that’s what you’ve done.
If the guests are from out of town, they may not know what things are (or are not) permissible in each bin. I can put things in my home recycling bin that I know are not permissible in the bins where I work because it’s not the same council district.
It is annoying when people put rubbish in my bins without asking, especially as I run the risk of my recycling not being emptied if it’s got the wrong stuff in it.
I’m definitely in the camp that I just wouldn’t care, right up to the point where there wasn’t room for my own refuse. A note seems like a good first step.
I’m very respectful of other people’s bins. I just walked my dogs, it’s trash day, and I didn’t put their poop bags in anyone’s cans on the way. Because respect and (ew!) poop.
That would work on me too-- in fact, I’d be mortified to know that I’d been using the wrong bins. I’d probably even leave an apology note.
I can only guess the neighbor never made it clear and the guests assumed “separate entrance; separate bins” or something, since guest after guest seems to do it. I’m willing to believe they all don’t know, but not that not a single one cares.
My trash bin is full of dirty kitty litter. Including the poop! Feel free to add your bagged dog poop, if it fits.
Yeah, if his guests sometime put so much trash in your bin that you can’t fit your trash, that’s a huge nuisance. Since you never see the guy, I’d leave him a note. I’d probably slide it under the door, and I’d put my preferred contact info (phone, text, whatsapp, whatever) on the note, so he can reply to you in a less awkward manner. I’d explain the problem, and ask him to ask his guests to use his bin. I’d also put a label on my bin, making it clear that it belongs to my house and not not to his.
In the best outcome, he has no idea this is happening, communicates with guests going forward, and most of them comply. Some won’t give a shit and will use your bin anyway.
In the worst outcome, he actually prefers his guests use yours, because he tends to fill his. Then you might want to look into whether his airB&B business is legal, or leave nasty reviews, or whatever. But i wouldn’t do any of those things if it’s just something the neighbor never thought about, and he tries to fix it.
I’d move my bins - the BnB guests either don’t know or don’t realize they are your cans. They are different guests each weekend so they don’t have the incentives that a regular tenant has to avoid annoying either you or their landlord and if your neighbor doesn’t operate on a regular schedule , he may not ever see them in person to tell them.
And don’t discount the possibility that they just don’t care.I rent a garage from my neighbor two doors down and people staying at the BnB half a block away have repeatedly blocked it. When we them, we tell them and a few have said “I see other cars parked here”. Yeah, mine. There’s no way they were mistaken - they just don’t care and nothing’s going to happen to them. They’re only there a week , it’s not like they have to get along with anyone long term.
Find out whether your municipality (city, town, county, whatever) has any regulations about air b&b’s; and if so what they are. Our quite small town requires, among other things, that neighbors must have a way to contact whoever’s running the place to notify them of any problems; and if the owner isn’t responsive the next step would be the code enforcement officer.
I might try notes and/or locks on your bins first, as the neighbor’s hard to get ahold of; but I’d still find out what if any regulations there are.
I find this problem interesting, because where i live, bins live in the garage, and only go out onto the street on trash day. The idea of a nextdoor neighbor’s air b&b guests breaking into my garage to use my bins seems very unlikely.
Anyway, my constructive advice was above . Good luck.