Living sustainably can be a challenge, even when you're doing everything right. But it gets harder when the people around you don't play by the same rules — like an upstairs neighbor who decides that the shared garden is a perfect spot for what they call "compost."
This is the experience one Reddit user shared in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit. According to the OP, their upstairs neighbor was littering food scraps that ended up in the shared yard and even the OP's private garden space.
"It's literally food waste that won't break down for months and we live in an area notorious for rats. Not to mention it's a lease violation," the Redditor explained.
They then went on to add that when they tried to explain the problem, the neighbor "literally laughed at me then started recording me," prompting them to bring the issue up with their landlord.
Living in a shared building can make even simple eco-friendly habits tricky. You might be careful about recycling, composting, or maintaining a garden, but someone else's habits can undo all that effort. Food left in common areas, ignored rules, or other small missteps can lead to frustration — and sometimes bigger problems, like pests or lease violations.
Composting itself has real benefits when done properly. Food scraps that are contained and broken down in a bin become nutrient-rich soil that strengthens gardens and reduces landfill waste. Left scattered around, though, scraps don't just fail to compost; they can attract pests and make shared spaces messy.
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As one commenter explained about the OP's neighbor's approach: "If it was compost (which it isn't) it would be in a compost bin, not a random spot on the floor and lawn. The compost only works after it's composted, not when it just sits on some greenery."
It's a good reminder that keeping compost and gardens on track often takes clear communication and a little insistence on shared rules.
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