Ever tip your garbagemen?

[Tuckins1]

I just did this yesterday... We have been renovating, and over the past 3 or 4 years we have LOADED the garbage men with work. At times, the garbage was lined up the whole width of our yard!!

They always take everything, so yesterday I went out and gave them both a $20 bill.

Anyone else ever do this? Why did you do it? What did they say?

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

i''ve never actually tipped the garbage man (i''m in Australia, we don''t tip much!) but it is a bit of a tradition in our house to leave a six pack of beer on the bin just before Christmas as a thank you.. and it''s always appreciated!

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 6/30/2009 10:33:26 AM
Author: hawaiianorangetree
i''ve never actually tipped the garbage man (i''m in Australia, we don''t tip much!) but it is a bit of a tradition in our house to leave a six pack of beer on the bin just before Christmas as a thank you.. and it''s always appreciated!

I like that idea!! Only, it would probably be frozen solid at Christmas time around here... (Michigan)
Maybe for 4th of July!!

 

[lulu66]

my bf tips ours at christmas. they are so nice to come down our drive and get our trashcans b/c we ALWAYS forget to take them down the drive. but i love the idea of leaving beer--they might like that better. i say we start that as a trend in the states too!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I don''t think they''d be able to accept beer here in the States (lawsuit waiting to happen). Our town is really strict about what they take and how much. It sucks. You''re given one bin and one bin only. If you need more or your stuff is too big to go in the bin, then you have to call for an overfill pickup.

 

[packrat]

You know, I''ve never thought of doing that, but it''s a nice idea! They''re out there in the crappiest weather, hauling nasty garbage-would be nice to get some sort of thank you!

 

[gemgirl]

My husband does it all the time. He gives them anywhere from $20.- to $50.- depending on how much garbage we have out there and if it''s really heavy for them to lift. He also goes out and helps them when there''s a lot.

 

[rainwood]

We''ve never tipped, but our situation is also a lot different. We have strict limits on how much waste can be put out. If you put out more than fits in your container, then you get charged more. And there''s a weight limit as well. We also have separate pickups for garbage, recycling, and yard waste so three different trucks come by. Construction debris can''t be put out on the curb and has to be disposed of separately.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

We have specific types of trash cans we must use and a mechanical arm comes out and dumps our trash in... I don''t ever see the garbage men get out of the truck, so I wouldn''t know how to get a tip to them!

 

[doodle]

Well, where I live, the trash is picked up by prison inmates on the good behavior list (they''re supervised by an armed officer), so I don''t think it''d even be allowed to give them anything. I have tossed one of them a cigarette before since those are hard to come by and well appreciated in jail from what I hear, but that''s about as much as the officer will let them take from you!

 

[tyty333]

Never have but we should...our guys are great and always pick up everything. They work hard in the hot
florida sun and I definitly think they could use a tip. I''ll have to remember this around xmas time.
(although I guess any time would be appreciated!)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 6/30/2009 1:01:40 PM
Author: OUpeargirl
We have specific types of trash cans we must use and a mechanical arm comes out and dumps our trash in... I don''t ever see the garbage men get out of the truck, so I wouldn''t know how to get a tip to them!

Same. Our garbage company issues trash cans that use the mechanical arm. There are also ones for yard waste and recycling.

 

[lyra]

We are only allowed to put out 2 cans, and they only collect every *other* week in our city. We have 2 separate recylcing collections done weekly. Wouldn't begin to know who to tip, how much, or even be able to catch them. They are fast! If I were in your situation though, I would either give a cash tip, or gift cards if you know how many guys are doing the collection.

ETA. Doh! You already did it. Yes I agree. We have tipped in years past.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

We never have, but we don''t put out a lot of garbage. Anything that is big that we need to throw out gets taken to the dump by my DH.

 

[radiantquest]

my husband tips them at christmas time. altough i am not sure how much. i know that they appreciate it because we have the kind of garbage men that let the neighbors trash cans go into the road and i have seen the trash man throw them in puddles. our trash cans are laying down, but not in mud and they always put them to the side so that we can exit the driveway without running over them if we need to. some of the trash cans i see on trash day have been in the middle of the peoples yards!! thank goodness he tips them.

 

[whitby_2773]

only at Christmas.

we leave $20/head and a dozen beers. it''s absolutely expected here - and we do it for both the garbage collectors AND the recycling collectors. we leave out a bottle of wine for the mailman also. this seems pretty standard from what i can tell.

to be honest, i get sick of tipping - 20% in restaurants, taxi drivers, barmen, my hair dresser, the guy who takes my luggage at JFK - i mean the list just goes on and on.

welcome to new york.

 

[ice-queen]

My parents moved to a new town about a year ago where, like Hudson_Hawk, they are strict- only one garbage pail per house (and it has to be the one supplied by the town), it can''t be overfilled, etc. Well, my mom gave the garbage men a nice tip last December around Christmas...and since then they will take anything she puts out AND they bring the garbage cans back up to the top of the driveway for her! She is the only one on the street they do this for, so we are assuming she was on the only one to tip!

 

[Tuckins1]

We are very lucky where we live... The garbage men will pick up anything as long as it is contained properly. Our yard waste is picked up from May-October... You just have to rake it all into the street and they come and suck it up. Our recycling does have to be in a specific bin issued by the city, but you can get as many as you want. (You just have to pay for them)

 

[lovegem]

Date: 6/30/2009 3:20:49 PM
Author: doodle
Well, where I live, the trash is picked up by prison inmates on the good behavior list (they're supervised by an armed officer), so I don't think it'd even be allowed to give them anything. I have tossed one of them a cigarette before since those are hard to come by and well appreciated in jail from what I hear, but that's about as much as the officer will let them take from you!

if you don't mind, may i ask where you are from? I've never seen inmates collect garbage.

 

[doodle]

Date: 7/1/2009 12:35:00 AM
Author: lovegem

Date: 6/30/2009 3:20:49 PM

Author: doodle

Well, where I live, the trash is picked up by prison inmates on the good behavior list (they''re supervised by an armed officer), so I don''t think it''d even be allowed to give them anything. I have tossed one of them a cigarette before since those are hard to come by and well appreciated in jail from what I hear, but that''s about as much as the officer will let them take from you!

if you don''t mind, may i ask where you are from? I''ve never seen inmates collect garbage.

Don''t mind at all! I live in Columbus, GA. The jail here is classified as a work prison, so the inmates pretty much do all the work that the city needs them to do that nobody else is really wanting to deal with, so it''s a weird program, but one that has worked really well here. If you want to read a little more about it, here is the link for the prison. Please excuse the poorly worded bits of the web page--apparently, none of the inmates were grammatically savvy, and it''s kind of obvious that no one else was concerned about it either when this was created!

 

[lovegem]

Thanks doodle. I think that''s a great program you have there.

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 6/30/2009 5:55:05 PM
Author: whitby_2773
only at Christmas.

we leave $20/head and a dozen beers. it''s absolutely expected here - and we do it for both the garbage collectors AND the recycling collectors. we leave out a bottle of wine for the mailman also. this seems pretty standard from what i can tell.

to be honest, i get sick of tipping - 20% in restaurants, taxi drivers, barmen, my hair dresser, the guy who takes my luggage at JFK - i mean the list just goes on and on.

welcome to new york.

You''re right whitby. We tip everyone here and my husband over-tips, which makes it even worse!

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 7/1/2009 2:44:14 AM
Author: doodle

Date: 7/1/2009 12:35:00 AM

Author: lovegem

Date: 6/30/2009 3:20:49 PM


Author: doodle


Well, where I live, the trash is picked up by prison inmates on the good behavior list (they''re supervised by an armed officer), so I don''t think it''d even be allowed to give them anything. I have tossed one of them a cigarette before since those are hard to come by and well appreciated in jail from what I hear, but that''s about as much as the officer will let them take from you!

if you don''t mind, may i ask where you are from? I''ve never seen inmates collect garbage.

Don''t mind at all! I live in Columbus, GA. The jail here is classified as a work prison, so the inmates pretty much do all the work that the city needs them to do that nobody else is really wanting to deal with, so it''s a weird program, but one that has worked really well here. If you want to read a little more about it, here is the link for the prison. Please excuse the poorly worded bits of the web page--apparently, none of the inmates were grammatically savvy, and it''s kind of obvious that no one else was concerned about it either when this was created!

This a a cool program!!