Recycling and Reclamation Worker Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Recycling and Reclamation Workers earn a median of $40,240 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 21% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $19.35/hr. The middle half earn between $36,090 and $46,920. The top 10% earn $55,140 or more.

The median hourly wage for recycling and reclamation workers is $19.35 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $40,240 annual median works out to about $3,350 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of recycling and reclamation workers earn less than $31,270 a year and the bottom quarter less than $36,090 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

The highest state medians for Recycling and Reclamation Workers are Minnesota ($46,280), Washington ($46,190), District of Columbia ($45,740) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, North Dakota moves to the top at $51,361.

BLS does not split recycling and reclamation workers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $55,140, against a median of $40,240 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Minnesota ($46,280), Washington ($46,190), District of Columbia ($45,740).

No. BLS lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry requirement for Recycling and Reclamation Workers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as some preparation. BLS also lists short-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 74.1% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for recycling and reclamation workers is no formal educational credential. Once hired, BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing some preparation.

It is growing, but slowly: 1.8% over 2025–2035 against 3.5% for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 340,500 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials. A core O*NET task: operate forklifts, pallet jacks, power lifts, or front-end loaders to load bales, bundles, or other heavy items onto trucks for shipping to smelters or other recycled materials processing facilities. Employers most often ask for Office suite software, Spreadsheet software, Word processing software.

Most work more than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 69% of recycling and reclamation workers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 29% work exactly 40 and 2% work fewer. 80% say their schedule is regular and 20% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Recycling and Reclamation Workers highest on the Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 24.6% of recycling and reclamation workers, against 47.1% of all employed people: more men than in the workforce as a whole. 19.2% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 36.9 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.