Are you supposed to tip the trash collectors?

[Darcy03231]

Doesn't everyone pay for trash pickup?

We don't pay a separate bill for our trash pickup. We just have to buy the stupid purple town bags. Out town pays the people contracted to pick it up (which is covered by our property taxes).

When we lived in the city we didn't pay a separate bill either (and we didn't have to buy the stupid purple bags). The trash collectors were city employees and it was covered by our property taxes.

 

[tvguy]

I don't tip. We have a different collector every week so don't think tipping would work anyway.

EDITED: The County does our trash pickup, and I think as public employees they are prohibited from taking any tips or gifts.

 

[bsblady01]

Doesn't everyone pay for trash pickup?

no

 

[CdnCarrie]

Up to recently they were Union employees and probably weren't even allowed to accept gifts.
As its an automated truck that comes around 6 am in the dark and cold of a Prairie winter I'm not even sure how I would give it to them.
If you left it on the lid of the bin it would probably not be seen by the driver in the dark and be tossed in the truck.

 

[BillBrasky]

Garbage guys deserve tips. Have always left a blank check in the trash for them, but apparently they're not allowed to take tips, cause they've never cashed one.

 

[sonnyjane]

Doesn't everyone pay for trash pickup?

No. When I first lived in San Diego it was through the city. No extra cost other than taxes. Then a few years ago the community I lived in announced that the city was no longer going to be collecting our neighborhood's trash so we had to pay an independent company to collect so they raised the HOA fee significantly and they paid the private guys. Then of course the place I live now in WA has a monthly trash fee tacked onto our water bill, so everywhere is different!

 

[tzolkin]

no

No. When I first lived in San Diego it was through the city. No extra cost other than taxes.

My question was really more along the lines of "What does that have to to with tipping?"

The person I quoted said they don't tip because they pay for trash pickup. I just don't see where paying a private company, paying through your HOA, or paying through your local taxes makes a difference of whether you tip or not. I'm neither for nor against tipping, I just don't see the connection.

 

[AppleDumpling]

This topic seems to come up every few years among my friends and neighbors. Around here, some people tip the sanitation guys, but I would say most don't.

Regarding mail carriers, although it is common practice, as federal employees they are technically not allowed to accept cash tips.
The official policy from the USPS website:

"Employee Tipping and Gift-Receiving Policy
All postal employees, including carriers, must comply with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. Under these federal regulations, carriers are permitted to accept a gift worth $20 or less from a customer per occasion, such as Christmas. However, cash and cash equivalents, such as checks or gift cards that can be exchanged for cash, must never be accepted in any amount. Furthermore, no employee may accept more than $50 worth of gifts from any one customer in any one calendar year period."

 

[suzimar57]

tipped our 3 regular trash collectors last year - no "thank you" note from them - so they're not getting anything from us this year (plus they don't go out of their way all year, and only at THIS time of year do they stop leaving my pails upside down, tossed into the yard next door, with the lids scattered about (starting in 2 weeks, it's back to dragging my pails back from wherever they wind up...) - mail carrier got tipped last year, sent "thank you" card, will get tipped again this year....