A word to the wise, folks…

Don’t mess with another person’s trash can.

And especially if you live in a big city, don’t even think about it!

The guy who wrote today’s story is pretty peeved that his neighbors don’t have any respect for his trash can, which he does his best to keep nice and clean, and he’s not sure what to do about it.

Let’s take a look at what he had to say.

How can I prevent my neighbors from using my trash can?

“I rent a unit in row homes in Philadelphia. I have lived here for just a few months and do not know my neighbors very well.

I absolutely despise trash, it is my least favorite chore because I get so disgusted with food waste and am particularly sensitive to those smells. With this, I put a lot of effort into keeping my trash can clean.

He’s meticulous about this…

I double bag all my trash before it goes down into my outdoor bin, and I leave the outdoor bin in my garage locked away at all times besides the night before / morning of trash pick-up.

I also have the bin very clearly labeled all over it with my address and unit number, and it has a lid that through drilling a hole I connected to the bin itself and it secures tightly to avoid animals getting in on their own.

Uh oh…

Someone keeps putting their nasty trash inside my bin. Not only do they throw in a barely tied shut bag, or just throw loose unbagged food trash in it, they also do not secure the lid back on.

So now, and like other times before, I come back to find a disgusting mess in my bin that has clearly been ravaged by raccoons and filled with trash that is not mine and trash all over the driveway behind my house.

This is pretty rude…

This time, my bin is not only disgusting with whatever liquids and food remnants they had in their trash, but it is also now filled with ants and bugs!

I can’t put this back in my garage without washing it, and the absolute last thing on Earth I could imagine doing right now after a 12-hour day at medical school is hand clean out this bin in the dark outside in the alley behind my house.

How can I stop this from happening?

If I knew who kept doing it I truly would go dump the remains of this on their door I am so irritated. I see people talking about locks, but then how would the trash people be able to empty it?

I don’t leave it out otherwise so the only time I need it locked is while it’s waiting for the trash workers.

I don’t have the money to be investing in security cameras and lights over a trash can, nor do I think I would even be allowed to install them on the property since I just rent.

Does anyone have suggestions? Or do I just have to deal with this indefinitely?”

Check out what readers had to say about this.

This person weighed in.

Another Reddit user shared their thoughts.

This individual weighed in.

Another person offered a tip.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a community who realizes their mistake after restricting parking to residents only gets guests and delivery drivers towed.

And this reader shared their thoughts.

Well, you can’t really blame him for feeling this way, right?

I sure don’t think so!

He’s pretty fired up about his trash situation!