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To tip or not to tip the garbage man: Advice from our street-parking friends in Brooklyn

By V.L. Hendrickson  | December 12, 2011 - 3:18PM
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Does anyone tip sanitation workers at the holidays? The talk over on Brownstoner is of two minds. Many think there's no need to tip. Picking up the trash is a free service, and technically tipping is not even allowed by Department of Sanitation.

Then again, getting in good with the people in your neighborhood may be a wise investment, especially since many of the folks who pick up your trash are also on snow-removal duty when winter weather hits, points out a commenter on Brownstoner.

A modest holiday gratuity ensures that the workers on his block "*never* bury my wife's small car," he explains.

Moreover, he says, “These guys are on the regular route, and can watch out for your home/cars in ways you never could, simply because you're not always around. A 20 spot, and sometimes a bottle of wine lets me wake up without having to sweep my sidewalk of all the stuff that spilled, nor do I chase my pails down the block and sometimes find the lids, etc."

Still on the fence?

"Ignore the tightwads," says another commenter.  "The benefits outweigh the cost by a longshot.”

(Brownstoner.com)

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