Caught in the Act!

We had a skip at our community garden for 48hrs strictly for scrap metal as there was old fencing, rusty car parts and even an old boiler. The merchant left the skip and collected it for no charge.
Even before we had time to load it, some clowns had dumped full dog poo bags inside!
A group of us just filled the skip as fast as we could, rang the company and got it uplifted before anyone else could add their rubbish.
Isn't it strange? The recycle centre is only minutes away and costs nothing.

We share our garden waste bin with our neighbour in return for them looking after our cat when we go away for weekends. We all think it’s a great compromise. ??

oldwoman70 because we rarely take clothes to be dry cleaned now I've had to buy hangers!

I work for a skip company and this is a longstanding problem. It must be extremely frustrating as I agree it isn't cheap and having to pay to dispose of your neighbours rubbish is infuriating.
On another subject we recycle approximately 90% of everything that comes in one way or another. Sending waste to landfill with the added taxes is extremely expensive and is avoided unless necessary.
Someone mentioned wanting a skip but has issues with space .. if this is an issue ask for a wait & load skip if you can accumulate your waste close to where the skip is to be placed then you get half an hour or so to just transfer it to the skip before its taken straight away. Hope this is helpful

Hilmix...did the neighbours never mention it to you later on, as they got to know you better?
Probably your reaction was for the best?!

Many years ago when we had just moved into a new ( to us) house we ordered a skip as the previous owner had left the garage in a bit of a state and also we had taken the old fireplace out.
A couple of days after it was delivered several neighbours came along and managed to fill almost half of it, obviously they'd all had a clear out. We didn't know these people so felt unable to challenge them as we had just moved into our forever house, it was a cul-de-sac and we didn't want to start off on the wrong foot so we put up with it. They did not do it sneakily ie. under cover of darkness but neither did anyone knock and ask if we minded. We did, very much.
When the company came to collect the skip the driver told us it was overloaded, therefore not safe so we had to unload some of the stuff and order and pay for a mini skip from our very much overstretched budget. I cried tears of frustration that day!
We spent many happy years in that road but I never forgot our introduction to the neighbours...

I had a skip when I was moving. It was on the main road and cars kept stopping to take things out, at first I was annoyed but then I realised that A) things were going to get used and B) I'd have more room in the skip.

It was much nicer when people would knock and ask if it was okay to take things, sometimes I had things left in the house which I offered them and they took, lol.

I left a mattress outside overnight ready to put in the skip the next day which disappeared. Not sure I'd want to use someone else's mattress but they obviously needed it.

I was really annoyed when I found other people's rubbish in my skip, it's just not on, in my opinion, it is theft.

Rosiebee I used to volunteer in a charity shop and agree with you that some people use it as dumping ground. (For some reason people seem to think charity shops want bags full of old, wire clothes hangers!). We used to have a person who regularly "donated" old dirty clothes - on one occasion a bag full of childrens' dirty torn underwear.

Good for you, sunseeker. Ha, ha - I would have bought tickets to see that.

I hope you exploit their emabarrassment to the max.....that'll learn 'em!

I volunteer at a charity bookshop and all the books on our shelves are in good condition or better. We are lucky to have great donations most of the time but occasionally I feel we are seen as a dumping ground for dusty, musty books that no one would want to buy. If you wouldn't buy something in that condition, take it to a recycling centre. Charity shops need stuff they can resell. Books or whatever. We also sell some toys and it's a real pain when toys are donated with parts missing or broken or cuddly toys which a dog would turn it's nose up at. That's what a skip is for.

If books are in reasonably good condition, your local library will probably be glad of them, but ask them first. We never need a skip because we Freegle (Freecycle) everything. We have got rid of a couple of wardrobes, a leather sofa and armchair, a double bed, large rugs, suitcases - and lots of other things. People are always very grateful and you feel that you are helping somebody else out.

The house opposite had a skip for a week and kept us entertained watching the other neighbours helping themselves and then other's putting stuff in it was like Piccadilly Station. The owner's never actually came out but must have seen the activity it nearly wore the grass out!!

GreenGran78. I have great trouble getting things recycled, being disabled, living alone..
However, at least one skip hire co. will recycle all the stuff he takes. I think they have to actually. Also our local recycling centre (that I still call the "tip") is wonderful, they recycle just about everything, taking a lot of it to charity shops. However, I was upset when they said the Charity shops have stopped taking books! Apparently they only take new or 'in new condition' books now!

sunseeker. Absolutely Dreadful! Disgusting Cheek! I looked into skip hire recently and my sharp intake of breath was powerful enough to move most of my belongings!
I thought you were going to say they were taking things out! I did have a lovely polite man knock my door a few years ago and ask if he could look in the skip as he recycled things.
Your story has put me off booking a skip! It's hard enough because of the parking situation anyway but now I would feel I had to sleep in it to make sure I kept it available for my stuff!
I do hope you managed to get all your things sorted out. A big well done for attacking the job! One I really want to give my second go at. Not easy!
Best wishes with the move. I am sure it will be lovely when you are all settled in and sorted out!

I put the green wheelie bin out once a fortnight, usually half full. By the time the operators come around to empty it, it is overflowing, think my neighbours take advantage and decide to contribute! Don't mind really, one neighbour asked me if I could clear away a pile of garden rubbish in his garden and put it in my bin, he is in his 30's and I am a pensioner! He pointed out that he doesn't have the time and I am after all retired! You couldn't make it up.

I only wish that someone would come and take all the rubbish from a skip at the house opposite me. They have been renovating the house and the last skip they had has been siting there for several months now. It has on it a mattress, a door and loads of other assorted large items ,along with bags of whatever. It’s such an eye sore and when windy (often ) stuff has been blowing onto the busy main road. Not sure if they have any intention of having it removed so someone, please come and take what you ca!! ?

It makes me cringe when I see good stuff dumped in skips, because the owners can't be bothered to recycle it in some way. There are lots of places like Freecycle, local 'swap, donate and sell' websites and charity shops. Societies for the homeless are often glad of furniture and household stuff for poor people starting off with nothing. There is a second use for almost everything, with a bit of effort.

I did skip dive a new carpet offcut last year as it looked just right as a runner for our utility room (and was!) but generally theres never anything interesting!!

I used to work off Belgrave Square - one day a colleague came struggling through the door dragging quite a large carpet that she'd retrieved from a skip. She was a bit eccentric and we rolled our eyes at this dusty mess - when unfurled it was a rather nice but grubby Persian carpet!

We had a skip on our front lawn once, long time ago now, and the only thing the neighbours chucked in it was a set of keys. They were having a bit of a row and she threw the keys at him, missed, and they flew over the fence and into our skip. They had to make up then and were last seen head first in the skip on a key retrieval mission ?

Recently had my bathroom renewed and of course needed a skip. Not one person took liberty of putting rubbish in...but after the workmen had finished with skip I put some of our garden stuff in ....old sand-pit outgrown by grandkids... plastic paddling pool...swingball set ... see-saw.All difficult for me to get rid of because I don’t drive. Immediately people started knocking on door and asked if they could have the sandpit..paddling pool...seesaw...and I said I’d no problem with them taking the stuff out. Nobody took anything with asking. So much went that I put up a notice for neighbours to fill it up again if they could. They did.

On a different theme, we have a brown bin for garden waste, we don't have a lot, but having given up the car getting rid of greenery was a nuisance. We came home one lunch time to find that our neighbours had taken down their rose arch and completely filled our bin, mainly I think because we were not at the time doing any gardening, and some other neighboura had used the bin, (with our permission). at another time. I said very little, unlike me, but I think my silence spoke volumes, and now they always ask. It's no problem, but I am tempted to ask why they don't get a bin themselves My mother in law, bless her heart, always said "least said soonest mended" True.

I put rubbish into neighbours skip - the builders’ polystyrene food trays, sweet wrappers etc, which they left blowing around. In return I helped myself to some nice pipe cladding - just right for the outside tap.

After we'd bought this house but not moved in we drove up to find friends peering through the windows...apparently they just wanted to see if we were in....no car in the drive was a dead giveaway on that! If they had asked to see it we'd happily have shown them round as it was they were happy to give opinions on it to anyone who would listen especially about the massive water stain on the sitting room wall where there had been a burst pipe .Of course if they had just waited a week or so they'd have seen it decorated and furnished and looking much better than the empty shell .
Gilly I freecycle a lot of things ,we used to move stuff into our rentals but now we dont do furnished we give it to folk who need/want it ,,always pleased to help someone when I can .

I use freecycle quite a lot and have managed to recycle quite a few things that may have otherwise gone to landfill.

My DS lives in USA and in their local area it's very common for people to put stuff outside their homes for anyone to take, which I guess is a valid type of recycling. (This is in a State which has good weather most of the time!)