How to tip the binman?

[HomeCookingWannabe]

Hi,
My first year living in a place with bins per house (previously was communal) so need to tip.

How do you do it, given they come round at 6am? Do you wake up early and hover around? I'm obviously not going to leave cash on my bin overnight so i'm stumped

@MyrtleStrumpet "They are well paid for the job they do."
Are they, though? I really have no idea how much they earn, but I can't imagine it's well-paid.

It's like another world out there.

Nobody I know tips the binman, postman, window cleaner etc. They earn a salary.

And if our bin isn't put out, on the kerb, it doesn't get taken. Our binmen aren't the same every time. I'm so intrigued about houses with the same binmen who will dutifully retrieve a bin and put it back thanks to a chirstmas tip!

Tip a binman? Does this even happen?

They get a pretty decent salary where we are. They rarely put the bin back properly from where they took it. Not something I would be tipping. It's hardly exceptional service.

We tip the binmen and the postman. Ireland though. And with deliveries these days I should probably tip all the drivers, not just the postman. Sometimes we do it at Easter if I didn't get around to it at Christmas.

Do they? Out in all weathers, taking away those stinking maggot infested wheelie bins in the summer? You couldn’t pay me enough to take people filthy rubbish away.
Times have certainly changed yes, and with it decent human kindness.

I’m American.
Every year I buy several (4-5) 12-packs of various types of beer & lager and late at night I put them on top of my bin for the guys with a big “Merry Christmas & thank you” note.
They love it and even take my bins back to the gate for me when they don’t have to.
I think they probably appreciate the gesture more than anything, because I don’t think any of my neighbours do much for them at all.
A gift is acceptable as well as money, as long as they can share it.
Just a thought.

How would it work with collecting hundreds of boxes of chocolates on a bin round if lots of people do this? Do they have a car following them on the round as there is no way they'll fit all the gifts in the bin lorry!
Ridiculous idea!

I think people ask their neighbours to push it out for them. Or you could just leave it at the edge before you go if not

Former binman of 10 years here 👋 or rather binwoman, we do exist.

Christmas tips is still a thing and people were very kind. Usually a couple of quid, box of mince pies, chocs or beers. Maybe from 10 houses on a collection round of 1100 houses. I always let my colleagues have the beers as I'm not a beer drinker myself. The chocolates are always welcome as they kept us going when it's freezing rain and you just need sugar to keep you going 😆
The most tips I ever received was during covid. We got lots of lovely hand made messages during the lockdowns which we put up in the crew room. There were hundreds and it was an amazing sight. A whole wall of appreciation. I work in a different area of waste management now, not frontline anymore, but that wall of messages sticks in my mind the most.

I'm a former binwoman. We never got that much, 😂 . Maybe a couple of boxes of mince pies and a box of chocolates and a few beers on a round of 1100 houses. A very nice man gave me £20 during Christmas 2021 which I used to buy cocktails with that evening. That's the biggest tip I ever had. We also were given a plate of fresh from the oven mince pies 😋 that year.

I was thinking the same! We put our bin out the night before, or people ask a neighbour to if they are away. A team comes and empties them. If it doesn't happen, I would contact the council. That is their responsibility, not the whim of team members.
I have never tipped the team doing this job, ever. They still empty the bins.

Not a snowballs chance in hell I'd tip my binmen. Miserable obnoxious lot. I'm sick of calling the council because they cba coming in to get my bin

When it was one bin and the same team each week I used to lay in wait. Now it's different bins and four different teams so I don't bother. I did in 2020, but bought four tins of Heroes and taped them to the bins, as they had worked throughout the pandemic. I tip the postman and our newspaper delivery bloke.

You're joking of course.

I tried to tip the Tesco man last year, he said they are told they can't take it!!!

I've never heard tipping bin men was a thing until on mn. I find the idea of taping chocolate to a stinky bin pretty gross though even if it's bagged

We always leave x12 cans of beer on top. Wrapped. In a carrier bag in case it rains. We leave it out the night before and, to date, it’s never been nicked. I like to think they put our card on the wall in their ports cabin and it makes them feel appreciated.
I really value our bin men and especially love it at Christmas when they wear Santa suits! (Although noticing this less and less. I’m sure some graduate, working behind a desk in Health & Safety, age 22, has deemed it unacceptable work-wear!)

Anyway, I digress. Shout out to all the binmen/women doing an outstanding job! We appreciate you!

We live in probably one of the rougher areas of town and tipping is definitely a thing. I do the bin men, window cleaner and milk man. Maybe it's not a thing for the nicer parts of town but it is here and no one will touch the 4 pack of carling left on a bin as there's every chance that one of the crew is related to 'Angry John' round the corner and no one wants to rattle his cage.

😆

Always tip the refuse collectors and postman. In London here and we know them
all by name.
It’s a nice thing to do, we really appreciate them.

We're working class northerners and my mam always gave the binmen and the postman a Christmas card with a tenner in. My gran too.

Always tip them.
They are great, always return my bin to it’s position down the side of my house. I leave it curb side. Sometimes takes until the New Year for me to catch them, but never fail to.

My friend tips everyone. Bin men, postman, doctor and doctor’s receptionist, hairdresser. Must cost 100s each year.

I don't tip anyone at Christmas. They get paid like everyone else.

I tip the postman and dpd driver. Years ago my mother always tipped the binmen when it was council run and if you tipped they'd literally take anything from you for the year so you could stick out extra rubbish. Not it's all privatised and they are rude and cranky feckers so I don't bother.