AIBU to ask people to show appreciation to Refuse Collectors too?

[NotEverythingIsBlackandwhite]

I was putting out our Household rubbish and recycling last night and thought thank goodness they are still working and we don't have rubbish building up in our streets. They must have staff off self-isolating too and worry the same as we do but have to work in fairly close proximity to each other.

I decided to sellotape a note of thanks on each bin and asked them to keep safe because, although they aren't saving lives, their roles are so important. We only notice when there are strikes.

My DH saw them arrive and the operative showed the note to everyone on the vehicle including the driver and they all gave the thumbs up sign towards our house, clearly chuffed.

I think a lot of people feel unappreciated and maybe we could all show our gratitude more often.

So 2 people think I am being unreasonable. Ha ha.

I wonder if that's because you haven't lived through weeks and weeks of rubbish piling up in the streets when the bin men were on strike?

I don't know whether I'm just more emotional because of a recent bereavement, but I am so grateful to everyone who is continuing to work to help feed us and take care of us through this awful time.

A very big thanks to all supermarket workers and those involved in food supply and delivery too.

Yes, we should be extremely grateful to everyone providing a service whatever that service is.

Fire......
Flood......
Disease......

Pestilence! Don't fancy being overrun with rats!

Not at all unreasonable. My boys made a picture to stick on the bin to thank our bin collectors (including our lady driver). They love bin day and I'm grateful they're working as usual.

Lovely idea op! You've inspired me to do the same☺️
They are definitely doing essential work as far as I'm concerned , we have 7 of us self isolating at home at the moment, and rubbish build up would be a real problem if bins weren't collected.

So many of the jobs like this deserve massive amounts of appreciation and I hope people don’t quickly forget it when things are more normalised.

Thank you!
My partner is a bin man, and he is exhausted. Goes home everyday saying he’s never known anything like it! He’s nearly been in tears because people have been rude and abusive; at a time like this! But he said it has also been really appreciated when people have been lovely and said thank you or waved or given a thumbs up.
They’ve been forgotten in all of this.

Our refuse services have been skimmed down massively due to staff shortages. We’re down to black bin (household waste) collections only (no recycling or garden waste). They are an invaluable service

Our whole road are doing a collective thank you this week for the refuse collectors. Posters, notes, coming to the window to wave.

I would be grateful if they turned up. Our bins are still out from last Wednesday not collected. Typical of our shitty council.

YANBU apart from this although they aren't saving lives they absolutely are saving lives. Just think for a minute about the disease and vermin that would flourish in a world without rubbish collection.

CV has really shown us which jobs are really important and it's very often low paid jobs dismissed as unskilled and menial.

Not at all unreasonable. My boys made a picture to stick on the bin to thank our bin collectors (including our lady driver). They love bin day and I'm grateful they're working as usual

That’s lovely

No, I'd rather not. Our local council say on their website that all bins will now be collected from the top of drive ways and don't have to be put on the kerb (not sure why). Our bin lives at the top of the drive anyway so it was already there, they didn't bother so it's now full to overflowing as it's got three weeks of rubbish in it. The tips are all closed so we can't do anything with the rubbish except put it in the garden but I bet some selfish people will go out and fly tip.

My partner is a bin man, and he is exhausted. Goes home everyday saying he’s never known anything like it!

Then thank you to your DP, I wish he was one of our bin collectors.

YANBU, I felt very grateful when I heard the bin lorry this morning. Usually I am cursing them for waking me at 6 am.

Great that your refuse services are still running - not all of ours are.

I made a point of saying thanks to our bin men yesterday, they were all in good spirits and waving at the kids looking out of the window

Everyone is appreciating them already. You are patronising them with your virtue signalling.

That's really weird, my first patient of the morning was a refuse collector and I said exactly that to him.
I have no idea where I would put my rubbish without them.

Our council has scaled down collections to household waste only. No recycling etc.

The upshot is that I put the contents of the recycling tub into a bin back to be collected with the rubbish because bottles and cans etc lying around in the recycling tubs carry almost as much health risk.

There is going to be huge amounts of landfill after this.

And tbh I agree with PP, all this show gratitude to this and that worker is virtue signalling.

I’m glad that the bins are being collected, and I would be pissed off with my local council if they weren’t after all I doubt they’d reduce my council tax.

But I don’t feel the need to show gratitude.

Great idea OP. The bin collectors can't social distance and are handling the tissues etc of ill people so deserve a big thanks.

Not sure if these will work but saw them today and thought they would keep the kids occupied for a bit as well as brighten a few peoples day

DD6 showed her gratitude and a lot more to our binmen this morning, prancing around waving and blowing kisses at them butt naked on the lounge windowsill

My DH is a refuse worker - he's had nothing but abuse from folk because the collection services have been scaled back due to lack of staff due to isolation or being deployed to do other work.

People are being extremely selfish and telling him they "pay his wages" when they can't manage a route quick enough with 2 staff instead of 4. He would've been delighted to see this!

He received a letter last week stating that they did not require PPE to be provided as they should be wearing their 1 pair standard issue cloth gloves, can leave the windows open to ensure adequate ventilation and as they've reduced staff they can social distance within the trucks by a distance of 1.8m if the sit at either side 😡

Now is the time for little acts of kindness. Always a good idea to say thank you