Landlord saw my worm bin and left a passive-aggressive note, now what?

I keep a small 5-gallon worm bin on my balcony, tucked behind a plant. It's sealed, no smell, I've done this for 2 years. Two days ago my landlord slid a note under my door saying 'no outdoor storage containers without approval' with a photo of the bin. They didn't say to remove it, just wanted approval. I emailed them explaining it's compost for my houseplants, not trash. They replied 'we'll discuss at inspection next month.' Has anyone dealt with a landlord who got weird about vermicomposting? Should I just move it inside or fight this?

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patricianguyen11d ago

I had a similar thing happen with my old landlord in Portland. She found my 10 gallon bin in the garage and left a note about "unauthorized organic matter." I just moved it inside under my kitchen sink and never mentioned it again. The inspection came, she looked around, and that was that. The bin is sealed and doesn't smell, so inside worked fine. People get weird about stuff they don't understand, and fighting about it just makes them dig in. Easier to keep it off their radar than to win a debate about worm poop.