Keeping Dog Poop out of my Trash Can

Please please please don't dump on the street, that is a terrible alternative and way worse than having a smelly trash can. It's a trash can, what is your expectation for how it should smell? Also, where else should it go? The person is being courteous enough to not leave it on the street and make your area dirty. Is your trash can near where you spend time? I have a dog and clean poop off my lawn into my trash can, but only spend 10 seconds near it when taking out my trash and it's done. Perhaps speak to the parks and rec department about getting more trash cans added to the park or move your trash can to a place where you aren't congregating.  

Have you tried taping/writing/stenciling a note on the top of the bin asking people not to put in dog poop? It won't stop everyone, but it might give pause to the people who just thought, "Oh, a trash can, I'll throw away my trash here." I know when we're out walking my husband often puts litter he's picked up (no poop, though) in other people's bins as we pass so he doesn't have to carry it, and it wouldn't occur to him that they might not want it there unless he saw a note. (At least I'm glad to hear that some people are bothering to clean up after their dogs - but that's another issue!)

I am a dog owner and I hate it when people put their dog poop bags in my just emptied trash can. I will never do it to someone else, but rather walk around with the poop bag until we get home or find a public trash can. So I sympathize with you. I doubt the person(s) who do it will see that the poop bag was dumped out, though. I think taping a note on your trash can might be more effective. Good luck!

My neighborhood NextDoor argues about this all the time. I'm with you- if you don't pay my garbage bill, you don't get to use my can. I would affix a sign to the can saying " NO DOG POOP-NO PUBLIC WASTE" Hopefully people will knock it off. They can put it in a public can or bring it home. As a dog owner, if I walk my dog where there are no cans, I tske it home even if it means I have to put it in my trunk. Besides if you take it home it can be flushed which is better than a gazillion little plastic bag poop sausages in the land fills.

100% understand. We tried, in succession, several different signs (removed, presumably by the sh!t-leavers); a lock (some would leave sh!t on top of our can), and finally simply removing the can from the front yard to our side yard, which has a lock.  So thoughtless, unhealthy, and disgusting. This topic seems to have people who feel strongly on both sides of the issue, but I’m with you. Yuck!  Good luck. 

Put a nice note on the top of the can saying something like “ please do not put your dog poop bags in here”

I personally don’t put poop bags in anyone’s trash unless it is trash day and is full and at the curb! I have seen those notes on other people’s trash cans and I would hope folks would honor your request.

You have my sympathy--we even had some dog owner deposit UNBAGGED dog feces in our empty green bin--that was a pleasant experience...

I doubt that these irresponsible dog owners will read this thread.  But I would like to appeal to responsible dog owners and the rest of us to step up for the community.  Maybe concerted calling out by passers-by of anyone depositing bags as they walk would set a community standard?  "Excuse me, please put the bag in your own bin?"

I suspect your post will bring out the usual--"be glad it's bagged"  "the city owns the trash bins not you" complete with rude and entitled comments--as per innumerable NextDoor threads.  But why should those of us who don't own dogs have to smell your dog's feces whenever we put our garbage in the bin?  Just take it home with you and put it in YOUR bin.  Much appreciated!!

I understand that is annoying. But I would so much prefer people actually clean up after their dog than just leave it. I have a container in front of my house that I fill with bags to encourage people to clean up after their dogs and I would much prefer they put it in my bin than just leave it on the ground. Please don't dump the bag back on the street, as it can end up in the bay or just spread more mess around sidewalk and street. Consider calling the city and asking them to have more trash cans available in the park, or even ask them to place signs reminding people to use park trash cans. Are u at home when your trash is collected? Can you immediately roll your bin back? People often use my bin, too, and I pour some baking soda in it to help with the smell. I haven't had many problems with the bag puncturing and getting on the can. Good luck

Instead of going the indirect route of dumping the poop back out, maybe you could put a sign on your garbage can that you would like people to not use your receptacle for such a purpose? No guarantees that everyone would abide by your wishes, but it might cut down on the amount of times it happens.

I totally understand! We have the same problem. While I'm glad the neighbors are picking up and bagging the poo, I don't want it stinking up my yard in my can all week. We are home due to the pandemic, so we just listen for the garbage truck and pull the can in as soon as the garbage has been picked up. If you are not at home, perhaps you have a neighbor at home who could do this for you? 

I'm trying to imagine opening my garbage can and sniffing, or peering inside to see if someone has dropped something in there. I don't know about you, but when I'm throwing stuff in my garbage can I'm opening and shutting it as fast as possible and walking away quickly. My garbage can does not live anywhere close to where I hang out, and it's only out on the street for a few hours each week. There could be 5 lbs of dog s*** in there and I would not know it. So I'm confused. Do people regularly look into their cans to see if someone else has used them? Do they expect their garbage cans to not stink?  I don't get it.

I would just tape a small sign asking politely "please no dog poop!"

I can't stand it when people do not pick up after their dogs and poop lies on the streets.

I have 3 dogs myself and constantly picking up after others' poop.  I even bought signes

to post up and around my block where I walk, so I don't mind if poop goes into the garabage

can (mine or others), but I can empathize w/ the smell if it broke especially.  It's rude.. they

should carry it to their own trash can... part of the role of being a dog owner and all its 

benefits.. our furry babies are worth the extra effort without putting others out.

I'm not the original poster, but to the folks who don't understand why non-dog owners (or maybe even dog owners) would not want someone else's dog's poop in their bin all week, it DOES SMELL!! Especially in summer when it's hot out, it smells to high heaven even with the lid closed. Opening the bin is an even greater joy. Maybe some people don't use heavy enough plastic bags? Anyway, we've experienced this forever and with no side yard our bins must be kept right next to our house and front walk, and the whole area just stinks. We basically barricade our garbage bin against the house behind our other bins and it lessens the problem. Obviously we don't prefer people to leave dog doo on the sidewalk, but if people want to have dogs, they should take their dog doo home with them. 

I don’t like when there are dog poop bags in my trash bin either, but it seems to me like it’s one of the tiny consequences of living in a functioning society. At least people are cleaning the poop up. Dumping the poop bags out on the group is a pretty drastic and anti-social approach. 
 

I don’t have a dog but it seems much more unpleasant for a dog owner to have to carry a poop bag throughout the rest of their walk than the unpleasantness of the 5 seconds you have to deal with it when opening the bin. 
 

I recommend bringing you bin in soon after the trash is picked up to reduce the opportunity for your bin to be used. 

I hate the smell so much as well and we have a dog too.  Though our poop bags are thick and don't smell when thrown in our bin, while when others throw poop bags in they often are thin and smell, so we are trying to avoid it.   What works for us is taking the bin inside (we keep it in the garage) as soon as possible after garbage pick up.  Ours is early in the morning and on the garbage pick up day I have my schedule arranged to leave home for the office later in the morning so that I can get the bin inside right after pick up to minimize the time outside.  This eliminated the issue completely.  My parents' bin are kept outside, on the side of the house, and they place it so that the garbage bin is farthest off the sidewalk as possible with a large recycling bin blocking access to it -- if the access to the trash bin is as inconvenient as possible, it reduces these instances. I know people that use bin locks too as a last resort.  You don't have to make it impossible to get it in your bin, just as difficult as possible, since that would encourage the trespassers to use a different bin that is not yours. 

If you’re worried about the smell, hire a service like Canology. We use them since we have a ton of fruit and can’t always harvest it. So we throw a lot in the compost bin and it turns easily. Canology is very affordable in my opinion and got rid of our smell!

And if you really want to just avoid the bags in your can, maybe hire a local kid to bring your can onto your driveway/yard after they get picked up. (I think WM also offers this service but it’s pricey)