A British term for a garbage collector or sanitation worker who collects trash bins from homes and businesses.
Compound word from 'bin' (trash container) and 'man' (male person); emerged in mid-20th century British English as refuse collection became a distinct occupation.
Binman is a distinctly British word that shows how job titles reflect cultural identity—Americans say 'garbage collector' while Brits say 'binman,' revealing different ways each culture views the same work.
Occupational term defaulting to masculine form. 'Man' appended to job titles reflects historical male-dominated labor markets and obscures women's participation in waste collection and sanitation work.
Use 'waste collector,' 'sanitation worker,' or 'rubbish collector' for gender-neutral reference; or 'bin worker.'
["waste collector","sanitation worker","rubbish collector","bin worker"]
Women have worked in sanitation and waste collection for centuries but are linguistically erased by the '-man' suffix, which defaults these roles to male identity.
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