How to Protect your Dumpster Rental from Inconsiderate Neighbours
You’ve got it all set up and you’re ready to go. The dumpster rental is parked out front awaiting you and as you approach it, you notice something inside. Then you realize what’s happened. If you’re one of the unlucky ones, you may have a rude and obnoxious neighbor who has decided to use your dumpster for themselves!
But wait. Dumpsters have weight limits and size limits, and if these are exceeded, you’re the one who is going to be charged extra. Also, what happens if your neighbor tosses in a prohibited item – you’ve guessed it. That’s more fees for you! So before calling it quits on your clean-up, construction, or renovation project, here’s what we think is the best way to approach an inconsiderate neighbor who may be doing this to your rental.
Advise them before the Dumpster is even There
Don’t hesitate to politely go over to your neighbors and just give them a quick heads up on the dumpster being dropped off. Let me know in the kindest way possible that there are limitations to what can be put in and that there’s a risk of being charged extra if it’s over that limit.
Just make sure they know what’s up and the financial repercussions of casually tossing in their own trash. After all, giving the benefit of the doubt, they may not know about all that and they may think it perfectly fine to toss in an old piece of furniture. It’s not.
Use the ole’ Bungee Cord and Tarp Trick
When you’re through using your dumpster rental, before calling it quits, throw a tarp over it and use a bungee cord to trap it down. This should indicate to anyone looking to dump off some waste to not do so.
If you have inconsiderate neighbors or people living near you that are going to try to sneak garbage in, it’s going to be too much work for them and draw too much attention having to go through the whole tarp and bungee cord routine.
Don’t Hesitate to kindly ask a Neighbor if they’ve been using your Dumpster Rental
If you know who is dumping stuff into your container, the only thing to do is to confront them about it. Don’t go in swinging though! There’s no reason for things to get heated. Simply advise them that you will be charged an extra fee if their stuff is included in the dumpster and ask them to take it back. Any reasonable neighbour should understand and be willing to take their stuff back.
At that point, if they refuse to remove their items, it’s kind of up to you whether you want to call the police or not. It’s not legal to use someone else’s dumpster rental without permission as it is technically “theft of services”. Additionally, if you don’t know which neighbor dumped the items in your container and/or if you don’t wish to confront your neighbours about this issue, speak with your local city council and explain what has happened.
Protecting a Dumpster Rental can be Hard Work!
By planning and being vigilant, you can guard against other people using your dumpster rental. If someone has already taken advantage of your dumpster rental, we hope to have given some options on a way forward.
