As editor of a newspaper, I’ve been CC’d on hundreds and hundreds of emails from residents to city governments over the years.
They range from complaints about taxes to complaints about potholes to complaints about, well, everything.
Complaints about bad neighbours, however, are the No. 1 type of email I’ve been included in on.
A lot of people hate their neighbours for some pretty good reasons.
A recent email from “Steve in Burnaby” was sent to the city about the garbage habits of his neighbour. When I say “garbage habits” it’s a double-meaning – the habits are about his neighbour’s garbage and that these are also garbage habits because it’s garbage-type behaviour.
Garbage gets picked up regularly and each time Steve’s neighbour lets his garbage can overflow onto the road, where wind and animals make the situation even worse by spreading it around.
According to Steve, it happens without fail.
You would think putting out the garbage in a city-provided can would be really easy to do.
You would be wrong.
So this person has my vote to be in the running for a worst neighbour award.
Sure, there are neighbours who make too much noise with backyard barbecues, or neighbours who take up all the parking or neighbours who encroach on somebody else’s property.
But spreading garbage all around the neighbourhood on a weekly basis puts this on a different level because it happens so often.
It’s right up there with condo neighbours who smoke on their decks so the stink wafts into your unit. (I have personal experience with this and it’s not pleasant.)
Come on, be a good neighbour. Tighten up that garbage. Bear season is starting and that adds a whole other layer to the situation.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
