What do you tip your bin men?

I give a box of biscuits Christmas and New Year…I just put in a bag and tie to
bin handle.

I tip. Every one gets a thank you card with Xmas good wishes, and a £10 note. Pool it or pocket it. That's not my business. But my son works in hospitality, and is not customer facing. As a chef, his job is to put tasty food on the plate, the waiting team deliver it. So the establishment adds a service charge (with an opt out) and the "tips" are shared across the kitchen and front of house. In busy periods, it can add nearly 25% to the take home money at the end of the month (his basic is 0.56p above NMW so don't go nuts). There are no well paid jobs in hospitality, unless you're in front of a camera or own the establishment, and 65-70 hours a week is routine. The pay is based on an expectation of 12 -14 hour days, and it is desperately hard work when there's an event and a full dining room on top. I did the same sort of job 45 years ago so I understand.

Tipping binmen? So tell me, how are things shaping up back there in 1965?

I give them cold drinks in summer, sometimes sweets to share.

Nothing. They are getting paid a good whack.

I was going to say something along these lines. I work in a role where I know exactly how much they get paid. And it's a fuck load more than I do for fewer hours.

£20

I never tip them. They leave the bins in a disorganised fashion. Even if they left them in a perfect manner it would never occur to me to tip them. They are in a secure salaried job and it comes with a council pension.

I think I heard the same podcast 😂 I usually give them some chocs (haven’t done it yet so might have to be for new year ) but now feel very tight so think will leave a tenner, I think there’s only 2 of them though. I’d baulk at giving them £30!

Mine leave my bin in front of my drive every time so when I get home after work I have to get out to move the bin so I can park in my driveway! Grrrr

Nothing at all because they always leave bins half way up the street scattered all over the pavement and when I asked them once if they could not do that with my very frail neighbours as she struggles to walk even 10 metres they said no reason I couldn't bring it in for her (I'm not in half the time so yes, there is a reason) so they can 🖕

Nothing, we never see them. As for the recycling team, they are so unbelievably shit and create so much mess (more recycling on the street than in the truck), they don't deserve a tip.

My tip would be to stop leaving the bins blocking the road when they have emptied them!
We live on a small private road so have to wheel our bins to the top of the road to be emptied. All 4 houses leave the bins neatly to one side so that cars can get in our out. The bin men seem unable to leave them where they found them and leave them in a line blocking entrance to the road. A couple of years ago my neighbour needed an ambulance in an emergency. The crew had to move the bins before they could get the ambulance down the road. They have been asked multiple times not to do it but residents just get abuse in response. They are complete knobs.

Lucky bin men in your area. Everything I said remains true for every area I’ve lived in, in the UK. I see them running around with bins and extra bags every week here.

But, given their workload, I don’t expect them to return bins to their original location. If they leave one blocking my driveway, I move it, and it doesn’t register to me to complain about such a trivial issue.

The only tip i give them is put the wheelie bin back where it was left for you. Dont leave it in the middle of the road.

That really isn’t the norm in the UK. Here there are humans running all over the place grabbing wheelie bins to drag to the truck, which then lifts the bin to tip it. Then it’s human power to deposit the bin somewhere near where it started and they’re running off the next place. And yes, often they do seem to be running, not walking. It’s not an easy job. Plus there’s all the lifting and chucking of extra bin bags, which is done manually.

Im in the uk and this isn't the norm.

1. you are expected to drag your bin kerbside the day of the collection, to facilitate the truck picking up. If its not located where they want it, often they don't empty it.
2. never seen bin men running around hauling bins in recent years. The bin arms pick up the bins and empty them. they back the truck up right by the bin.
3. extra bin bags?!! They've not taken extra bags in years. Where i live if your bin is over full such that the lid does not close properly it won't be emptied.
4. they don't return bins to a sensible position. We live in a cul de sac and bins are left strewn unhelpfully, on the road, blocking driveways etc

I got them a box of chocolates to share last year. Not a tip as such, more a thank you for their back breaking hard work. They're always lovely as well, so that helps.

Reminds me I need to go get some haribo for bin day, my binman loves them.

Also cold drinks in the summer go down really well with them

We have 4 refuse teams for the 4 bin types. I don’t usually manage to tip all teams but as I’m fortunate financially and as I’ve known briefly when younger how nice it is to receive a tip when not well off, I try to tip each team member a fiver. Someone put on a separate thread that refuse collectors earn $40 (sic) an hour. Maybe all our refuse collectors own mansions and drive Lamborghinis but I suspect they’re more likely to have been hard hit by the cost of living crisis as have many employees of companies who’ve won outsourcing contracts. It’s a hard and often thankless job despite being essential. An argument against is ‘if they get a tip from everyone they make a mint’. On another post, a gardener said they received very few tips but it was lovely when they did. We all feel under appreciated. As a young teen I survived 3 weeks delivering newspapers before school. It was knackering, and even though it was around Easter it was very cold. I was invisible to my customers (except a dog which terrified me daily). If I’d survived till Christmas I would have more than deserved every penny of my Christmas box. Loads of people can’t afford to tip. For the moment I can. One of the people who taught me to tip said “It warms the heart”.

Yes, they lift the bins over the cars. The bins are on the edge of the footpath, they get lifted up - over any parked cars - emptied into the lorry and returned to the footpath.

@ChocolateTVandbaby I see our postman maybe three times a week. We live quite rurally and have a fair few parcels delivered. He's such a nice guy. And I'm retired so look out for his van to give him a Christmas gift

Just look at how heating and well populated street parking threads are on AIBU. We take our parking etiquette very seriously - just imagine the whole new level of carnage this sort of thing could cause 😂

Would they lift the bins over the cars? I appreciate it’s different everywhere but where I am bins often go on the pavement. Then the loaders need to walk them past cars to find a gap wide enough to walk through. I don’t think the British are naturally prone to rioting but I suspect being told they aren’t allowed to park on their street in bin nights might do it.

£150 between three of them. We have a horrendous, probably mentally ill, but nevertheless difficult and threatening neighbour, and the bin men have dealt with him amazingly on my 70+ mums behalf - she insists on the tip.

Do you think we don't have cars here? The hydraulic arms can navigate around cars.