Even if the garbage is on your neighbor’s property, you can expect a disturbance when it comes to waste. Some garbage has a foul odor, which is worse if the garbage is thrown in your yard. Having neighbors is wonderful if you get along with them and don’t encounter any problems. However, if your neighbors start acting strangely, such as throwing their trash in your yard, you may wish they weren’t there.
In such a situation, how do you cope when you have a neighbor who refuses to allow you to appreciate the peace and tranquility of your own home? This can be extremely stressful, especially if your neighbor is a tough nut to crack. Here are some thoughts to consider in the event that you come across such a neighbor who throws trash in your yard.
What Can You Do If Your Neighbor Throws Trash in Your Yard?
If the rubbish is in plain sight, like a pile of old tires or household garbage, you can’t do much about it. However, if it’s hidden behind your wall or in an unkempt place, you might have a case for trespassing. There are laws and regulations about dumping in public gardens, so there may also be laws about this, depending on where you live.
If your neighbor is a visitor or temporary occupant of the house and he or she is the person causing harm to your property, they may be liable and could be asked to leave.
But if they are a regular member of your household, they are under no obligation to clean up after themselves. Your only option is to ask them to keep their mess off your property and remind them of proper land care also.
Can You Call The Police on My Neighbor For Throwing Trash In Your Yard?
Yes, you can call the police on your neighbor if they persist with the behavior. The only thing is that you must have proof that it is indeed them who are littering your yard. The best way to ensure that you have proven that it is your neighbor doing the mischief is by:
- Install a security camera in your yard. This way, you will constantly monitor the happenings there to ascertain whether it is your neighbor or somebody else. After confirming it via your security camera, you can take the CCTV footage to the police as evidence.
- You can also go through the garbage to find anything with your neighbor’s information, like their names or photos, and use them as a piece of evidence. This is also very effective since there is no way their information can be lying in your yard if they did not throw them there.
Can You Call The City on Your Neighbor?
If you tried every other option and it failed, it’s time to reach out to the city or county officials, depending on the laws of your city or county. You should plan ahead because your neighbor may be given up to three months to improve the situation.
Can You Sue Your Neighbor For Throwing Trash in Your Yard?
Yes, it is possible to sue your neighbor if you have proof that they may be involved with dumping waste in your yard. The law may differ depending on the state you are so first, be sure to check what your state says about the issue.
Suing your neighbor, though, will mean you go through the court proceedings, which may take a lot of time, so if you want a fast solution, this may not be the best path to take.
How To Report Neighbors’ Trash?
If any neighbor is dumping trash, your local municipality will be an excellent resource for determining the proper way to report this. This can range from an email address, a phone number, a mailing address, or an in-person visit. They will take the issue upon themselves to find a way of either managing the waste or talking to your neighbor for a change of behavior.
What To Do If Someone Dumps Trash on Your Property?
If someone dumps trash on your property, You can call your local law enforcement agency, and they’ll come to pick it up, or if the behavior persists, you can also sue the person, but this works only if the trash poses a health risk or is on your property without your permission.
If it’s a personal problem between you and the person who dumped the garbage, then contact that individual first before calling authorities. Contacting them is the simplest and fastest way of solving the problem since you will all come to an agreement on how to live neighborly.
How Can I Stop The Illegal Dumping of Trash on My Property?
The dumping of trash on your property is something that no one would want to deal with. They pollute the environment and increase the risk of infections. Fortunately, there are several ways that you can use to stop the illegal dumping of trash as discussed below:
1. Put signage
At times, the public is not aware that littering or throwing out trash into an area that isn’t a dump site or garbage facility is against the law and punishable by fines or prosecution.
By posting no dumping signs, you will notify people who are unaware of preventing criminal offenders from trashing your land and bring awareness of ordinances to neighboring properties.
When pedestrians or other would-be offenders often see signage posted saying that violators will be arrested and tried for trashing the area, they will immediately vacate the premises and move on.
Displaying these messages around your property is a great way to promote security and ensure that people follow legal and safe practices. If they decide to ignore the signage and continue to dump their trash, they are at that point voluntarily committing the crime.
Police and local authorities will have a swift time trying the lawbreaker(s) when noticeable signage is put up in the area to tell people not to do that. You can also depend on the fact that putting up these warning signs will allow you to take lawful action and sue the person or people who did this to pay for cleanup costs and possible damage.
2. Use of surveillance cameras
Unfortunately, you can’t be around all the time to keep an eye on your property and prevent would-be offenders from throwing out trash onto your premises. In these cases, installing security cameras set up is a great way to capture evidence of the committed crime.
Sometimes the perpetrator who’s caught would inevitably deny any allegations regarding the garbage he or she has dumped onto your property. With the video evidence & captured images by your security cameras, the culprit who threw their trash onto your land can’t refuse the accusation.
The law will always protect you every time you use Security Surveillance cameras in combination with writing the “No Dumping” Sign.
3. Beautify your property
When you look at a property that is pristine and carefully organized, subconsciously, you are convinced to help maintain that sense of neatness. It is not easy for you to see these types of areas dirty with waste and junk. It is vital that you keep your property’s “look” in order to keep it from getting illegally dumped.
Some simple ways to keep your land in good shape include taking care of your lawn, planting trees and bushes that look good, and making sure there are no graffiti marks on the walls of your buildings.
Keep the area clean. People are more prone to dump their trash there if there is a lot of waste. This makes the spot a “de facto landfill.” Good property managers know that keeping their properties in good shape sends the message that illegal waste disposal isn’t OK in that part of the neighborhood.
What are The Consequences of Illegal Dumping?
Illegal dumping is defined as the unauthorized disposal of any solid waste on public or private property. Through illegal dumping, communities are subjected to air, water, and land contamination, causing possible health hazards for people and animals; this can be detrimental, especially if it is a densely populated area.
Additionally, illegal dumping may reduce property values and create a strain on community resources resulting in higher taxes. It can also create a fire danger from combustible material such as flammable liquids or aerosols.
Conclusion
Nobody likes an untidy environment, especially if it comes with a foul odor, so illegal dumping is frowned upon almost everywhere in the world. While some may not have the power to stop it, those of you who have read this article have learned one or two things that you can use to prevent such a situation from occurring in your area.
The government is always striving to make their city as clean as possible. If you can assist them in bringing those who are jeopardizing their efforts to justice, they will always have your back in the process, so do not remain silent. At the same time, you can help keep your environment clean, whether it is your private property or public property because when everything is clean, everyone is happy.