A Canadian Was Declared An 'A**Hole' Over A Recycling Bin Situation & Says They'll 'Do Better'

The people of Reddit recently deemed a Canadian an "a**hole" and it all comes down to the surprisingly hot topic of recycling bin etiquette.

Over on the r/AmItheAsshole (AITA), a forum where people ask if they're the a**hole over certain situations, one Canadian was declared an AH.

On Tuesday, April 11, the original poster (OP) asked, "AITA for using my neighbours recycling box without asking?"

The person went on to explain that they and their husband forgot to put out their recycling for "several weeks in a row" which resulted in there being too much to hold in their own bins.

"So my husband waited until everyone had already put out their recycling boxes into the ally way and took ours out in the morning before the garbage/recycling workers came," they said, noting that they distributed their recycling evenly through their neighbours' bins.

The husband later heard a neighbour "angrily cursing" that recycling had been added to his bin.

"He wasn't trying to put out more," OP shared. "He was just angry that we had used his."

They then asked if they and their husband were a**holes, to which many people said yes.

"YTA," said the most upvoted comment. "This is just basic social decency - if it doesn’t belong to you, don’t touch it."

A few people mentioned that they should have asked their neighbours first.

"Most reasonable people would likely have said yes," someone wrote. "But doing it like this was pretty poor behaviour."

"YTA," said another. "How hard is it to effing ASK?

Another said while it's "not the worst thing in the world" to do, it's a bit of an "unspoken rule."

In an edit, the OP thanked people for their feedback and explained that while they would have been fine if someone used their recycling bin, they see now that its "not the general rule" and that they'll "do better" at putting their recycling out to avoid upset.

Several Canadians on the forum have recently asked if they're the a**hole over situations, such as one person asking if they were wrong to shovel their American neighbour's driveway and another asking if they were wrong to not help a mother and her kids when their windshield wipers froze over.

Well, when in doubt, just ask the people of the internet!

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.