Have you ever asked a delivery man to throw your garbage?

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These days, you can often catch sight of delivery men shuttling in the neighborhoods with their hands full of plastic bags. However, some of these bags may not carry the takeout food, but garbage.

Mr Zeng, a delivery man from Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, recently complained to the local newspaper Chutian Metropolis Daily that some clients always ask him to help bring their garbage bag downstairs.

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Zeng had been working as a delivery man for more than a year. Every week he receives requests from two to three clients to throw garbage for them. Sometimes, he would be handed the garbage even before he delivers the food.

“I feel more like someone to pick up garbage,” Zeng said.

But he never rejects such requests, mainly due to the service evaluation system.

“If I get a bad review, 20 points will be deducted, which means I could hardly get orders from near locations that has higher pay,” Zeng told Chutian Metropolis Daily.

Moreover, the added task puts them at risk of not delivering the food on time to their next customer. This can also lead to a bad review and points deduction.

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Many other delivery men are faced with the same problems as Zeng, and most of them take the same approach.

“Once I get a bad review, I will lose the five-yuan (about 1 US dollar) delivery fee and be fined another five yuan,” delivery man Mr Sun said. "Taking the garbage is easy and it assures a good review."

On the other hand, a few delivery men like Mr Cai are quite willing to help. He said he had voluntarily thrown garbage for his clients lots of times. In terms of sanitation, he believed the food were all well packed and he had his towels and tissues ready all the time.

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Regarding the issue, Ele.me, Meituan-Dianping and Baidu Waimai, three major food delivery platforms, seem to hold different positions.

Ele.me claimed they would offer any help to their clients in their capacity including throwing garbage; Meituan said they would generally ask the delivery men to try to take care of the clients’ needs; Baidu Waimai’s common practice was to decline and explain. But they would consider running errands with gloves and disinfectant if there were many such requests.

What do you feel about asking the delivery men to throw garbage for you? It is hygienic? Is it reasonable? Please share your thoughts with us.