Do the garbage men leave the roll-out bin open just to be assertive?

Our trash service does that to. I’d imagine it’s a time saving thing, probably paired with laziness.

Their job is to open it and discard the contents. Asking them to close it? Not sure that is in their already crappy job description.

Talk about letting minor things bother you…..

These guys are on the truck doing 500 homes a day or more, and they do this 5–6 days a week. And (at least in my county) there is no continuity – the team that does my street this week may or may not be the team who does it next week or next month.

For them to remember the proclivities of one neurotic homeowner is simply unrealistic. And it’s not like they open up a document and read your ‘request profile” before they pull up each house.

There are many, many things in this world that would appear to be of more consequence the occasional bit of rain from a trashcan.

Nothing I can add to @elbanditoroso‘s and @Shippy‘s excellent comments except to say, closing the lid yourself would be good exercise.

I love how people get flack for questions like this. Trash collectors have crappy jobs, so why should they do anything but the bare minimum, right?

I’ve worked in shitty jobs making less money than they do and no one ever made it easier on me. Working as a server and making $2.19 an hour, customers never hesitate to bitch about the food (as if I cooked it), constantly send me back and forth to get them shit ( as if they’re my only table), letting their kids leave the table and floors a huge mess, and generally behaving like complete assholes. But the questions posted here like, “what is your biggest restaurant pet peeve?” gets no negative comments.

Who says trash collecting is such a horrendous job, more than others? I’ve known trash collectors that enjoyed their jobs – many find the driving and freedom more appealing than a 9–5 customer service job.

Now, I’m not saying they should honor one person’s wish to have their lid closed and I’m not saying it’s a big deal that they don’t do it in the first place, but is it really necessary to make the OP feel ridiculous for a simple question? I don’t think so. A lot of people have shitty jobs, and I can almost guarantee that the same people that think this is a crazy question are the same people that make it hard on others with not-so-obviously shitty jobs.

@livelaughlove21 Who’s making the OP feel ridiculous, good grief!

@Shippy “Their job is to open it and discard the contents. Asking them to close it?”

“Talk about letting minor things bother you…..”

“For them to remember the proclivities of one neurotic homeowner is simply unrealistic. And it’s not like they open up a document and read your ‘request profile” before they pull up each house.
There are many, many things in this world that would appear to be of more consequence the occasional bit of rain from a trashcan.”

I agree that @josie shouldn’t be getting flack for asking this question. Fluther is here so people can ask whatever they want. If you don’t like the question, don’t answer it.

The guys who collect my trash do the same thing. Where I live there is no municipal service, it’s all private companies who charge a LOT of money for their service, but they all do this. It takes 2 seconds to flip the lid shut and it’s not like they have to lift and empty a heavy can like in the old days. They roll the can into an automatic lift that picks it up, tips it into the truck and sets it back down. All they have to do is roll it against the lift, stand there while it empties and then shut it. I’m not at home during the day to do it myself since I leave before they show up and don’t return until late at night, so if the weather is bad, I end up coming home to a can full of water, ice or snow which I have to dump out along with whatever trash didn’t make it out of the bottom of the can (that happens with automatic emptying systems). In the winter especially, strong winds frequently catch the open lid and blow the can over (or down the street a bit), strewing out whatever was left in the bottom of the can to be blown all over my yard and my neighbor’s yards. Always fun to have to clean up when you get home late at night. I pay my bill promptly and give them a nice tip during the holidays, so I don’t think it’s much to ask for them to take 2 seconds to complete the job, especially when I empty the water out of it that they allowed to fill it so it won’t rain down on their heads the next time they pick it up. Maybe @josie shouldn’t empty the water out anymore and let them deal with the water in it. Closing the lid is to their benefit too, not just mine.

I feel the same way about the mailman not closing the mailbox when it’s raining. Who wants soaking wet mail?

We call them wheelie bins & the bin guys do that here too, I don’t let it bother me, but I can see how some people, dare I say it…flip their lids, over it.

@josie I totally understand. My trash bin is on a very, very slight incline and when they put mine back down, it always falls to its side. The trash can is taller than me, so I have to wallow the bin up out of snow, rain, sleet. I know that in the big scheme of things that this should be no big deal, but it is a pet peeve of mine.

Our guys must be angels. They leave it open on sunny days (presumably to air it out.). They close it on snowy or rainy days, and they put it on its side on windy days.

Our service offers a nice courtesy feature. If the bin is too heavy for you or if you have trouble pulling it off your grass, you can ask for a yellow “Please leave bin standing” sticker and they will leave it standing in your driveway, top closed. Elderly residents often use it. The Yellow sticker is to trash bins as the handicapped sticker is to parking lots.

The garbage trucks have arms that come out, pick up the wheelie bin, dump it into the truck, then set it back down. 9 times out of 10 the lid is flipped closed by the action of the arms. The 10th time when it doesn’t flip closed always occurs on a rainy day. I think it is a conspiracy!

It may just be a time/cost consideration. Closing one bin might take two seconds, but multiplied by the number of bins we’re talking about, every day, year in and year out, it adds up.

I just thought of some else nice about our garbage men.

We live on a dead end road that is also inhabited by abundant wildlife life. We cannot safely put out trash out the night before, as it would be spread around by raccoon, coyote, crows, fox, possum, ... even bear occasionally. We must put it out in the morning.

On collection day, the truck drives past every house and turns around at the end of the road. Then they drive down the center off the road collecting from both sides at the same time.
The rumbling noise from the truck drive-by gives everyone time to bring out their trash bins just before the truck arrives. Everyone’s trash remains neat and tidy, unmolested by critters.
There was never a written notice or acknowledgement of the procedure. They started doing it years ago and we followed along. It’s a great idea – but not applicable in all areas.

^ Ugh… “something else nice” not “some else nice”. I hate it when that happens.

The irony. This morning I had an email survey from my trash collection company…..

I thought they left them open so you can tell collection has been done.