7 May 2009

Skip-bin etiquette

| BenjaminL
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Time for some of your views on skip-bin etiquette

Background. I rented a 3×3 skip-bin for a week over the last long weekend to get rid of some rubbish around the home. Old books, furniture, kids toys and so on. These things cost about $200-$300 depending on size and for how long. Over the course of the week I filled it up and was a bit disturbed by what people will do when you’re not watching, or think you’re not watching, or even watching them in full view.

    1. People putting their own rubbish in the bin, ie old chairs and what not that wont fit in a standard green bin. Why pay someone to take that away when you can just use the bin i hired for free? I know the size of the object probably makes a difference, ie a mars bar wrapper is a bit different to a wardrobe, but is there a size limit before you can grab that item and put it back on the street so you can continue to fill your bin with your own rubbish?

    2. People who go through the rubbish when im not looking and take what they like. Sure I didn’t want it, and to be honest I dont really care, but could you at least ask? I’ll even help get it out since it gives me more room in the bin to throw more stuff out. Hell take that wardrobe thats not mine…

    3. Young teenagers taking the old soft porn mags. haha I thought this was funny, those mags were pretty old. I did scare them off though with a loud voice though. Hope they hide them from their parents. Oh to be young again.

    4. People going through the rubbish and taking stuff out while im watching them, and still not asking. Im looking at you taking away that old piece of furniture and not even thanks?

Is Canberra full of hoarders and bin-fillers, do you people also go to the dump and hang out waiting for that perfect free gift? Maybe next time I should just dump all the stuff on the nature strip and wait a week? I only have issues with people putting stuff in my bin without asking, take away as much as you want, but a thankyou or please would be nice. I did after all pay for all that stuff….except the wardrobe

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Woden Furniture Warehouse.
Opening hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
1 Antis Street, Phillip.

Pick up a bargain next to the bins in driveway.

And the ridiculous amount they charge to get rid of a monitor……

I was bushwalking on the north coast and found a cirlce of small monitors arranged so that they were all ‘looking’ at a the monitor in the middle. God I wish I had my camera that day. It was hilarious to see.

A mess, but still funny.

my 2c – the law states that it is an offence to dump rubbish in an area not designated as a transfer station or tip. This means technically it is against the law to drop stuff in another persons skip. Being in the building industry I experience this on a daily basis. Not much you can do. It is especially bad at Xmas and over long weekends. We usually remove bins before hand to avoid such problems. Im sure you can imagine what a whole streets prawn shells smell like by the middle of january!

You can advertise in Tuesday’s Canberra Times “For Sale under $100” for free. I’ve gotten rid of a bit of stuff that way and picked up items too.

Common courtesy seems to be a thing of the past i feel. I had a laugh reading:

3. Young teenagers taking the old soft porn mags. haha I thought this was funny, those mags were pretty old. I did scare them off though with a loud voice though. Hope they hide them from their parents. Oh to be young again.

So I thought I would share a true but funny story with you! Just before xmas 1 year ago, a car was driving up and down our street and into the culdesacs. No houses for sale, car I didnt recognise (my neighbours call me Esmey Watson), cars lights being turned off every few houses. Then the chap came back past my house on the 3rd occassion, parked 1/2 way up the verge and started walking into my front yard, the house lit up like the “parden the pun” proverbial Xmas tree. This is weird I thought, until I saw he had my daughters tryc in his grip, being loaded into his ute. Then it clicked, and I was out the front door in a flash, Mr 15″ Mag light in hand. Sitting in his car frozen stiff as I walked up the middle of the street, with Mr 15″ 10,000 candle watt shining in his windscreen, I proceded straight past his window without saying a word to him, took that tryc out of his utility, walked back past his window, as he muttered the words ” I was just worried s.one would steal it, I am puting it at your front door for you”. This bemused me, so I changed my stride from forward and calm to testosterone in reverse, back to his window, and said “if you dont get the f@#k out my f@#king Street in 2 seconds flat you lying c@#t I will be 2 seconds more closer to calling the cops”. The lesson, bein “if you don’t want it stolen or taken without permission, tie it down”

Ant if you are within cooee of Canberra then advertise them on Freecycle with the location. If someone wants it then it’s possible they will come to you. Btw I am amazed that a Freedom 80s fabric 2 seater is still in sittable condition!

Sounds like it’s time for some real charities to come back into the fray… we’ve been overtaken by corporatised charities run by hard-nosed accountant-types.

My stuff is clean, undamaged and fine, it’s just I prefer my giant natuzzi-copy lounge to my modest little Freedom 80s fabric 2 seaters, or the 80s public service desk (wood veneered) that I painted and stencilled ferns on. Or the stupid futons (work of the devil those things). There must be poor people out there who’d like decent stuff, but the charities who are meant to help them have become profit centres.

I guess even poor people would get disgusted by the futons though. Not fit for human backs.

Leaving stuff on the side on the nature strip often is a good way to get rid of unwanted junk. Our landlord has done that a couple of times when we had items that we wanted to get rid of (Stuff that was still there as such when we moved in), and it has been gone withing a few days.

On this topic, we had an amusing event happen last year though- the people from upstairs had a washing machine that broke down, and they left it on the footpath in the hope someone would take it away. It only took a couple of days for it to be gone, but then a few days later it reappeared, with a sign stuc to its side saying ‘it doesn’t f***** work!’

I could not believe that they bothered to reload it and return it, let alone that they believed it would be a sure thing that it would work.

There is no skip-bin etiquette, the only rule is that it will be full of other people’s crap within 24hrs. I guess you could try and prevent it by putting a tarpaulin over the top, then alarming it haha.

You can normally get rid of most decent furniture by leaving it out the front with a sign “free to good home” that will save some of the skip space and having people take it out anyway.

Felix the Cat10:41 pm 07 May 09

s-s-a said :

I will admit to the odd bit of skip-diving in my time (as well as acquiring things left outside charity bins, but that’s another issue).

There seems to be conflicting messages at charity bins. One sign will read along the lines of goods left near the charity bins are property of and people found taking goods will be reported to the authorities for stealing, but then I’ve seen other signs stating that leaving goods near charity bins and not in them is littering and people found dumping stuff will be fined. Wish they would make up their minds.

I recently upgraded my computer monitor so advertised my old still working monitor on several websites for a token sum of $10 but after a fortnight had no interest so left it in front of a charity bin and overnight it dissapeared.

I too have had bad experiences with Aussie Junk and charities not being interested in stuff I have been trying to give away. The yard and shed at Aussie Junk was full of stuff that was broken/scratched/damaged/dirty whereas my stuff was clean and not damaged so can’t work that one out. The charity shop I can sort of understand, there wasn’t much room left there, they already had heaps of stock.

curiouser1239:32 pm 07 May 09

ant:
There are still plenty of needy people. Charity stores are just being greedy.
That and people buy and resell at the markets/ebay. Even revolve have barely any stock left because they have an ebay account. What is the point in having op shops if douche bags resell it for profit.

Urinate on the things that can be re-used then let people go for their lives

When the charities get so demanding and fussy, one starts to wonder just how needy people really are these days.

GardeningGirl8:21 pm 07 May 09

Pommy bastard said :

Surely these would have been better served by being donated to the Salvos?

Gobbo said :

Aussie Junk would take your furniture, surely?

The Salvos are discriminating these days, anything they would take you could sell yourself and then the collection arrangements could be on your terms instead of taking the day off to wait for them. Am I wrong in thinking once upon a time they had people who could do minor repairs? It’s frustrating to see someone on one of those lifestyle shows repainting and reupholstering a piece of furniture in far worse condition than anything I’ve tried to give to the Salvos and I can’t find a way to get rid of it, except for a skip. I’m sure there’s a demand for some of this stuff. Back when we had a station wagon I took a chest of drawers down to the Salvos one evening after closing and by the time I made my second trip with some bags of stuff the drawers were gone already, mismatched handles and loose bottom and all! The drawers which we called them to collect they rejected because one drawer was sticky, an easy fix I would’ve thought for someone with some handyman skills.
We no longer have the means to deliver larger stuff and Aussie Junk don’t collect, so these days despite my aversion to the waste, a skip is the obvious choice.
Might have to look into this Freecycle thing.

What if nobody really wanted that framed picture of me in the first place?

I’ll take it ! Any chance its of you and a clown ?

“Is Canberra full of hoarders and bin-fillers, do you people also go to the dump and hang out waiting for that perfect free gift? Maybe next time I should just dump all the stuff on the nature strip and wait a week? I only have issues with people putting stuff in my bin without asking, take away as much as you want, but a thankyou or please would be nice. I did after all pay for all that stuff….except the wardrobe”

People in general have a very strange attitude to their garbage – they generally don’t think it’s actually theirs. Rather than recognising that the garbage that results from consumption is part of the consumption, most people seem to think that once they no longer have a use for something it is no longer their responsibility. Thus, the dumping and littering that (disgustingly) occurs all over town , and the strange behaviour you witnessed.

Ho hum, it’s a dirty world.

Clown Killer5:36 pm 07 May 09

The etiquette in our cul-de-sac is ask first. I have no problem with neighbours slipping a bit of crap into my skip as long as I’ve got all I wanted to get rid of in there – in fact if there’s space I’ll ask around if anyone wants to help fill it up.

Any stroke mags left?

ant said :

My stuff’s all useable and clean! In fact, it’s in rooms in the house. Not junk. Getting rid of it to good homes though is difficult. Freecycle would probably be the go… have to take it down to Canberra though.

any of it wardrobes / furnishings, etc? try the handyman’s trading post – butch may be interested, or know of someone closer who will take it off your hands.

My stuff’s all useable and clean! In fact, it’s in rooms in the house. Not junk. Getting rid of it to good homes though is difficult. Freecycle would probably be the go… have to take it down to Canberra though.

BenjaminL said :

And what is this Freecycle? can they clean up my house once and for all?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclecanberra/

It’s basically a yahoo group for people to post stuff that they want, or stuff that they have to offer up. People respond to stuff you have on offer, you tell them where you live and they come and pick it up.

You probably need a yahoo account

Muttsybignuts4:15 pm 07 May 09

Gobbo said :

ant said :

I’ve got some old furniture cluttering the place up, but getting rid of it has got me stumped. I’m in a rural cul-de-sac, so the roadside option wouldn’t work. I have a ute but working out where to take the stuff is unclear too. Seems charities just want money nowadays… who takes furniture (and is open on weekends)? The stuff is decent and throwing it out would be sinful. It’s got me jiggered.

Aussie Junk would take your furniture, surely?

Ive been inconvenienced a few times by AussieJunk at Mitchell. You try to give them good stuff ( furniture, toys etc) and they have knocked it back. ” Nah mate, got enough of that at the moment”. You then have to drag it up to the tip and pay to dispose of it. At least Revolve took anything and everything.

‘Surely these would have been better served by being donated to the Salvos?’

Possibly some of it, but when you hire a skip, there is a tendancy to want to fill it up before the street does so you feel good about getting ‘value for money’.

I’m no Skip-Hire virgin, It’s a me vs the street mentality and I want to win in filling up skip first. Occasionally there is collateral damage like recyclable paper, toys (chewed up by the dog) and furniture (missing legs etc). Rest assured, most of the skip was filled with actual garbage.

I have left stuff on the street before, but this just seems like littering to me, especially since it would be on the nature strip. How long before its considered rubbish? what if the right person never sees it. What if nobody really wanted that framed picture of me in the first place?

And what is this Freecycle? can they clean up my house once and for all?

I had a similar sort of thing happen the other day. Had a tree felled in the front yard and the fellers (geddit) cut the trunk into rings about 40cm diameter and 40cm long and left them next to the footpath.
I got home too late that evening to move them and had to go to work early the next morning, by the time I got home that afternoon they were all gone!

So if anyone has lifted some very green wattle tree firewood from Weston Creek I’d appreciate it very much if you could bring it back.

@arescarti42 – I have a dog and do the same thing re #2’s and don’t have a problem if you use my bin for that.

s-s-a said :

If you think it has a potential use, then doing this and/or putting it on Freecycle has to be a preferable option rather than paying for a skip and having it all taken to landfill. I have got rid of several large items of furniture in quite old and delapidated condition via Freecycle – saving me the time and expense of somehow getting them to the tip myself.

There’s a lot to be said for freecycle. At the very least, leaving it on the nature strip with a “free” sign for a bit before you get the skip would get rid of quite a few things I’m sure.

Personally, If the homeowner was around I’d definitely ask if they’d mind me taking a few things, but if no one was there i wouldn’t seek them out. That’s just polite i think. I’d be fairly annoyed with people putting stuff in it without asking though, especially bulky things.

On a side note, I occasionally walk my 2 dogs through various suburbs around Canberra, and being dogs they occasionally defecate. I always bag it and carry it home. Would it be unreasonable to put it in someone’s garbage bin as i walk past their house, to save me walking along with it? I personally wouldn’t mind someone using my bin for that purpose, but I suspect some might have concerns about dog poo in their bins.

i would be more worried about people taking things that are not in the skip

Others dumping their crap in your bin is a fair enough gripe, as for the rest? – meh

Inappropriate3:28 pm 07 May 09

ant said :

I’ve got some old furniture cluttering the place up, but getting rid of it has got me stumped. I’m in a rural cul-de-sac, so the roadside option wouldn’t work. I have a ute but working out where to take the stuff is unclear too. Seems charities just want money nowadays… who takes furniture (and is open on weekends)? The stuff is decent and throwing it out would be sinful. It’s got me jiggered.

http://salvosstores.salvos.org.au/donate/

Mike Crowther3:25 pm 07 May 09

Ive used three of these bins this year (renovating). I couldn’t give a rats if people take stuff out, glad they can use it and good luck to them. I do however object to people using them to put stuff in. That’s stealing as far as I’m concerned. I insisted the skip company put the things well down my driveway for that reason.

Couldn’t you put the paper porn into the re-cycling bin? (If you had too much to fit in then you may have more of a problem than home waste management)

ant said :

I’ve got some old furniture cluttering the place up, but getting rid of it has got me stumped. I’m in a rural cul-de-sac, so the roadside option wouldn’t work. I have a ute but working out where to take the stuff is unclear too. Seems charities just want money nowadays… who takes furniture (and is open on weekends)? The stuff is decent and throwing it out would be sinful. It’s got me jiggered.

Aussie Junk would take your furniture, surely?

I’ve got some old furniture cluttering the place up, but getting rid of it has got me stumped. I’m in a rural cul-de-sac, so the roadside option wouldn’t work. I have a ute but working out where to take the stuff is unclear too. Seems charities just want money nowadays… who takes furniture (and is open on weekends)? The stuff is decent and throwing it out would be sinful. It’s got me jiggered.

Funnily enough, stuff often moves faster if it has a token price (“$5”) on it rather than “Free”.

The Lifeline book fair takes old books.

Put the good stuff on the nature strip first, with “free stuff” or something on it. People will take it, you’ll have given permission and feel happy, and anything left over can go in the skip.

People putting stuff in your skip though, that’s rude and is actually theft of your skip-space.

If you didn’t have quite enough stuff to fill a skip, it might not be a bad idea to maybe letter box the locals asking if anyone wants to jointly get a skip? Or, you could letter box saying you were getting a skip and if anyone wanted to put a few things in it, they could pay you a pro-rata amount. Sub-letting some of your skip capacity.

There was a good ad on TV a few years back for, I think, sensor lights and they showed a bloke getting a skip and all these sneaky people creeping up in the night with their crap to put in it. Then his lights came on and they all melted away. great ad.

I will admit to the odd bit of skip-diving in my time (as well as acquiring things left outside charity bins, but that’s another issue).

If a home owner is obviously around to observe me taking things out I will ask them. But if it looks like nobody is home then I won’t make a point of going to check.

I would never put anything in a skip unless I asked. I was luckily able to get rid of something recently when some people down the road were moving. It wasn’t a bulky item but it wouldn’t fit in a bin or a trash pack and it was stashed down the side of the garage until such time as I had an angle-grinder on hand to cut it up. I saw them taking things out of the house and asked would they mind and they said no so I thanked them and went to get the item.

Maybe next time I should just dump all the stuff on the nature strip and wait a week?

If you think it has a potential use, then doing this and/or putting it on Freecycle has to be a preferable option rather than paying for a skip and having it all taken to landfill. I have got rid of several large items of furniture in quite old and delapidated condition via Freecycle – saving me the time and expense of somehow getting them to the tip myself.

Where do you live and how much room is left in this skip bin?

Pommy bastard2:43 pm 07 May 09

Old books, furniture, kids toys and so on

Surely these would have been better served by being donated to the Salvos?

Maybe next time I should just dump all the stuff on the nature strip and wait a week?

I highly recommend trying this first, particularly with furniture. Usually works a treat – it’ll normally be gone in a day or two (in the inner north, anyway).

I’ve had the same experience.

One thing that did worry me. I threw stuff in, and people hopped into the bin to rummage around. Legally, what happens if they get hurt? Can they sue? One person looked pretty unstable as he was balancing on my mountain of trash. I certainly wouldn’t have taken the risk he was taking.

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