Waste / Recycling Worker
Quick Facts
Median Salary$38,855
Most Common EducationHigh school or GED
Projected 10-Year Growth+27.14%
Assessment MatchTake the Assessment
What They Do
A Waste or Recycling Worker collects, recycles, processes or treats waste in a city or community. Works in a recycling plant, wastewater treatment facility, or landfill. Collects refuse from commercial and/or residential locations. Does not drive the vehicle used to collect/transport refuse.
Core Tasks:
- Inspect trucks prior to beginning routes to ensure safe operating condition.
- Drive trucks, following established routes, through residential streets or alleys or through business or industrial areas.
- Refuel trucks or add other fluids, such as oil or brake fluid.
- Dump refuse or recyclable materials at disposal sites.
- Fill out defective equipment reports.
- Operate automated or semi-automated hoisting devices that raise refuse bins and dump contents into openings in truck bodies.
- Operate equipment that compresses collected refuse.
- Dismount garbage trucks to collect garbage and remount trucks to ride to the next collection point.
- Communicate with dispatchers concerning delays, unsafe sites, accidents, equipment breakdowns, or other maintenance problems.
- Check road or weather conditions to determine how routes will be affected.
- Clean trucks or compactor bodies after routes have been completed.
What to expect as a Waste / Recycling Worker
1Earn a High school or GED Diploma
44% of people achieve this level of education.
2Gain skills and experience
See Waste / Recycling Worker related courses on Tallo
3Land a job
1887 openings for Waste / Recycling Workers
Career Progression
in United States (Nation)
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