Chuffed About Tipping

I am just back from vacation in England. While there I was struck by this "No Tipping" sign posted along a backstreet in Southend-on-Sea (see below). For an American it is ambiguous.

First, one might expect a “No Tipping” sign in a restaurant or hotel where you are not expected to add a little something to the bill for service. But that makes no sense when posted on a gate under an Environmental Agency logo. So, instead, it could be directing the public not to ‘tip off’ authorities to illegal activities. But why would the Environmental Agency not want to be tipped off to such activities especially when they provide a hotline number on the very same sign?

The answer is, of course, in Britain ‘tipping’ refers to discarding waste or garbage. Thus, the sign is synonymous with ‘No Dumping’ signs one sees in the United States.

So that we are not ambiguous at the US EPA, we do want people to tip. Not garbage, but information. To boost the ability of the public to report environmental insults, EPA placed the environmental violation icon on our website in January 2006. Since then, tips have more than doubled to about 650 a month. As the British might say, we're chuffed (very pleased) about that. More tips means we're better able to protect human health and the environment.

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