How much to tip mailman and garbage men?

[Anonymous]

Newish homeowners- what’s appropriate for tipping our mailman and three garbage men?

[Anonymous]

I gave $25 to the garbage collectors and we like our mailman a lot so give him $50. You can give yours $25 if you don’t know them that well yet.

[Anonymous]

I should have made clear it was $25 to each collector. 3 in the recycling truck and two in the regular truck.

[Anonymous]

Tactical question: how are you all doing this in Covid times? I want to leave envelopes, but am worried they’ll be taken by other people...

[Anonymous]

Call the garbage company and ask how to send a check in for a tip. Our garbage men always leave us a card with this information, as they don't want cash tips stolen either.

[Anonymous]

$20 to mailman, that’s the limit for what a federal employee can accept

[Anonymous]

I give $5 to mailman; $20 to trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$20 to mailman, that’s the limit for what a federal employee can accept

Yeah right, everyone abides by that particular rule.


Our entire neighborhood pretty much gives $50+ to the mailman. I'm quite certain he makes a minor fortune over the holidays, and it's all either cash or gift cards.

[Anonymous]

How do you give these people their tips? Just leave an envelope in your mailbox?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$20 to mailman, that’s the limit for what a federal employee can accept

+1 $10 each to the trash/recycling guys. We keep an eye out and run down (this year masked) to hand it to them.

[Anonymous]

Same here. I run down the trash men. $10 each x 6
Postman $20

[Anonymous]

I WFH and I haven't received mail or seen my mailman for days. Might be related to all the USPS issues.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I put cash and a holiday card inside a sealed envelope, then hovered around by the front window until I saw the trucks. Then I put my mask on, ran out and just quickly handed them to each trash collector with a “thank you” and “happy holidays.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

So, you can give a Starbucks card or another store-specific card, but you shouldn't give anything with a Visa/AmEx/Mastercard logo that can be used anywhere. Do USPS workers get prosecuted? Yes. Would they get prosecuted for only this? Probably not. But why put someone in a situation where they're in violation of federal regulations?!