Dogs might be ‘man’s best friend’ but they are also the source of a fierce debate over on Reddit this week. The question of whether dog owners should deposit little bags of dog faeces into other people’s bins or carry them home with them to put it in their own bin (if a public one isn’t available) is being hotly debated. User SydneyGammoner started the discussion when they posed the question in the Sydney subreddit ‘dog poo in other people’s bins, yay or nay?’ Rather than coming to the thread to vent their opinion, SydneyGammoner was genuinely interested to know whether people viewed it as okay or not.

I sometimes see people walking their dogs and dropping their bags filled with dog poo into other people’s outdoor bins.

Today I saw a guy reach over someone else’s terrace house fence to open their bin and drop his poo-filled baggie in there.

I personally don’t have a dog and I wouldn’t confront someone over this, however I do find it kind of gross. When I lived in a terrace facing a busy pedestrian street, people would chuck their dog poo bags in our bins, so the entire week after bin day, our bins would smell like sh*t.

Gross or no? Why or why not? Not here to whinge, just curious about the general consensus.

The replies came thick and fast!

I asked this in my local Facebook group and people replied that they didn’t mind if the bin was out, full and waiting to be collected, but if it was empty, they don’t want a dog poo bag sitting on the bottom to be squashed for the week.

I’ve just been going by that now. (Pufftanuffles)

Out for collection, fine.

Not out for collection – Your dog’s shit, you deal with it. (cruiserman_80)

It’s a bin, a bin is not meant to smell like a roses.

I’d rather they throw it in a bin rather than leave it on the street anyday.

I think though it has to be fair game, if the bin is out for collection on the street = go right ahead, if you’re reaching into someone’s yard, a definite no (VeezusM)

I agree with this 10000%. I’d far rather a dog shit in a bag in my bin than on my lawn or the footpath (Grolsschisgood)

Those aren’t the only choices though.

I’d rather the owner take it with them to a public bin or their own. It’s being a responsible pet owner.

Not your lawn, not your bin. Neither are places for your dog to poop. (TheSplash-Down_Tiki)

As long as the bins are on the nature strip and not in my front yard, I don’t care. Better in my bin than the street. Bins smell. I only need to smell them when I’m taking rubbish out, so I don’t care.

I don’t put my own dog’s poo in anyone else’s bin though because people in my area are really weird about it, even if the bins are out on the nature strip ready to be collected. (somuchsong)

I just can’t see any compelling argument for why it’s a faux pas.

Many places have zero to no public bins. Meaning anyone trying to do the right thing and clean up after their dog is forced to carry a bag of poo for god knows how long. Some number of people are just going to not bother picking it up knowing this fact. I’d much rather people clean up after their dog and use my bin than leave it somewhere.

Yes. It’s not ideal to have a bag of dog shit sitting in the bottom of your bin for a week, but are we really pretending our bins aren’t already disgusting on the reg? As long as a bag is tied properly it shouldn’t be an issue. (ConsiderationNearby7)

Consider that some people have to bring their bins into their garages (no frontage). Don’t put shit in their bins after the bins have been emptied cos then we have to stink up our garage with your dog shit. (iaijutsu08)

I leave my bin out specifically so people walking their dogs can use it. I haven’t had a dog for years now, but I remember what a pain in the ass it is carrying poop bags all the way home. It makes their life easier and has zero effect on me. (Villian)

So where do you stand on this? Would you be okay with a dog walker using your bin for their dog poo? Or should they take. It with them until they find a public bin or take it home?