A post about a woman dumping waste in “a stranger’s street side garbage can” has sparked debate on Reddit.
In the post, user AgileReality9275 wrote that he and his wife were visiting friends in a east-coast Florida barrier island/beach community and brought their 2-year-old golden retriever on the trip.
While out walking their dog one day, after the pet pooped, the Redditor wrote that his wife put the waste in a bag and later dropped it into “a large, standard community issued, garbage can” they spotted at the edge of a road, around four or five houses down from where his wife picked up the waste.
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Laws around waste disposal vary by state. Per the Minneapolis city government website, placing “household or commercial garbage, litter or other items” on either private property without the owner’s permission, into any garbage cart, dumpster or container on someone else’s property or into public trash containers is considered “illegal dumping.”
According to the Reddit poster, “a man mowing his lawn at the house next door (it was not his trash can) went off.” He “ran over and yelled” at his wife, saying “You’re disgusting. You can’t do that. Why would you put your dog’s waste (his term) in someone else’s can.”
Paris Permenter, a dog-walking expert and co-author of several pet/travel books, who founded the poop-bag carrier brand Yucky Puppy, told Newsweek: “It’s not acceptable for a dog walker to use a stranger’s trash can to dispose of poop bags.
“Although it is certainly better than not bagging the dog waste, picking up the waste is just the first part of the process. It’s the dog walker’s responsibility to either take the waste bag home for disposal or find a public trash receptacle along the route.
“While it might seem harmless to drop a bag of poop in a neighbor’s trash bin, the bag will begin to smell within hours. If the dog walker is using biodegradable bags and the bag falls into liquids at the bottom of the trash bin, the bag will begin to decompose, possibly creating a mess that will have to be hosed and scrubbed out of the trash can,” Permenter added.
The user in the latest Reddit post wrote: “I try to be a responsible dog owner. I always pick up her [their dog’s] poo, even if it is nowhere near other people’s homes.
“The lid [of the trash bin in the latest post] was half up, as it was quite full and ready for pickup. My wife deposited the tied closed bag-O-poo into the can,” the user explained.
Responding to the man who allegedly yelled at her, the wife said: “It is a garbage can. People put nasty things in garbage cans. That’s what they’re for.” He allegedly “harassed her until she took it out,” according to the Redditor.
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Several users on Reddit criticized the wife of the original poster for dumping the dog poop in the bin, while others were more understanding.
In a comment that got 10,100 upvotes, user stuffnthangs13 wrote: “I personally hate people putting their rubbish in my bin, especially dog poop. Edited to add, we have a dog and we take her poops home to our own bin.”
LovesMyPom posted: “I honestly wouldn’t mind if you put a water bottle in my garbage can. Dog poop is another thing altogether, it stinks. I wouldn’t put my dog’s waste bag in someone else’s can, I don’t want a stranger’s dog poop in mine.”
In a comment with 13,500 upvotes, ZenFenFae posted: “I don’t really care if others use my bins, would rather they throw their garbage in a bin than on the street. I mean sure, if someone is doing a big household dump and filling my bin up that would obviously be an issue, but a cup or a dog bag here and there isn’t an issue. Garbage is garbage.”
Redditor fancysauce_boss wrote: “People if you don’t want stuff in your bin, bring the bin up to your house or in your garage or away from the street/sidewalk.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.
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