People are idiots

So this morning we hear something beeping incessantly.

I check to see if it's a car alarm (no), our phone (no), or my senior citizen neighbour's smoke detector (again, no). My husband notices it's coming from the low-rise apartment building across the street, and calls the landlord to tell him that it's been beeping for a while.

Husband leaves to pick something up at the hardware store, comes back, and the thing is still beeping.

He walks over and realizes the beeping is coming from the garbage bags.

???

The bags should actually be placed in rigid, closed containers as per the bi-law. Not to mention for hygiene reasons. We live close to the lake and there is plenty of wildlife that likes to go sample the goodies in the garbage bags.


But of course the renters in that apartment building do not use the containers. Even though they containers are there, right beside the building.

But I digress.

So my husband decides to actually go through the bags to find out what the heck is in there making this racket.

He digs out a smoke detector.

With the batteries intact.

???

Most of us know that batteries are hazardous materials and should not be thrown in the garbage. I know that people do it anyway, hence the title of my post.

But to leave the batteries in the smoke detector and then to throw the entire thing out along with your food waste....again, hence the title of this post.

(Apartment buildings do not compost their food wastes).

The food waste emitted some sort of odour, which attracted the wildlife, who ripped open the bags and made a mess, which inevitably set off the detector.

Hence. The. Title. Of. This. Post.

Aren't smoke detectors radio-active? At the very least, they're hazardous and are supposed to be disposed of appropriately.

My husband repacks the garbage in new garbage bags (ours) and then proceeds to continue with his day.

And I debate on what to do. I'm already all worked up about the noise and idiocy of some people, for various other reasons I won't get into now, so I know I have to do something.

I decide to leave a message on the side door of the building explaining what has happened. Hopefully this will alert the offenders, or at least their neighbours.

I would think someone in that building would care.

But probably not.