The Unwritten Rules Of Doggy Doo Disposal When In Unfamiliar Territory

If you have a dog, then this is for you.

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• July 12, 2024

Crazy things happen every day, and with them come the crazy questions we never knew we needed answers to. One of these gems found its way to Quora.

A user innocently asked if it was okay to dump a bag of dog poop in a random garbage can if you were passing through an unfamiliar neighborhood. This query, my friends, opened the floodgates to a debate more heated than pineapple on pizza. The responses ranged from the sensible to the downright furious.

First up was the practical thinker. They argued that if the garbage hadn’t been picked up yet, tossing your dog’s waste into someone else’s bin might go unnoticed and unbothered. 

On the other hand, the idea of leaving your stinky surprise for a week in someone else’s freshly emptied bin was a hard no. The vision of that unbagged mess festering for days, ready to unleash its pungent wrath when the bin is next opened, was enough to turn stomachs.

One tale of woe came from a person who discovered their neighbor had sneakily deposited unbagged dog doo into their bin. The resulting drama with the local council, who threatened to refuse trash collection, added a layer of bureaucratic horror to the situation. 

Luckily, a handy security camera saved the day. It caught the poop perpetrator red-handed and brought the entire saga to an end. So, beware—cameras might be watching.

Others took a firm stand on the side of personal responsibility; they insisted that no matter the circumstances, one should always carry their dog's poop home. 

A responsible dog owner, after all, shouldn’t be outsourcing their pet’s waste management.

Let’s dig into the details

“It's generally not considered polite to dispose of your dog's waste in someone else's trash can without their permission.”

“I see nothing wrong with adding garbage to garage.”

“Garbage day or not, I always put the bag of dog poo I collected into the nearest black garbage receptacle.”

“If you're walking your dog and you've picked up after it with one of those little bags and you drop it in my can I won't care. I promise.”

“Depends. Some people don’t like it if you do this, some people don’t care.”

“If the cans are out in the street, absolutely you can add your bag of dog poop.”

“Stink is stink is stink. Is your stink REALLY less stinky than my stink?”

“Can you imagine going to court over a fight, because you threw your dogs poop in a neighbors trash can?”

“If the (black) bins are out and not yet collected, then it is fine to drop the poo bag in the bin. The contents are going to the same place as your bin.”

“Just don’t. Take it home and put it in your own can.”

“Once your trash barrel is out on the curb for pickup it is open for business.”

“I think so, as long as there is enough room for it, so that it doesn’t fall out.”

So, what have we learned from this poop-tastic debate? While some see a random garbage bin as fair game, others view it as a sacred space not to be defiled. 

The bottom line: maybe it’s best to err on the side of caution and just take your poop home. Because, really, nobody wants a poopocalypse in their bin.

Jesse