---
title: "Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector"
description: "Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/refuse-and-recyclable-material-collector"
last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z"
---

# Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector

**Category:** Transportation and Material Moving · **SOC code:** 53-7081 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 53-7081.00

Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.

Also advertised as: Front Load Trash Truck Driver; Garbage Man; Recycle Driver; Refuse Collector; Roll Off Container Truck Driver; Roll Off Truck Driver; Sanitation Laborer; Swamper.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $49,690 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.89/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $33,590 to $75,900, with the middle half between $39,080 and $62,020
- **Total US employment:** 147,240
- **Typical entry education:** No formal credential
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +0.9% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034)
- **Annual job openings:** 16,900 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 52/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 147,240 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $33,590 |
| 25th | $39,080 |
| 50th (median) | $49,690 |
| 75th | $62,020 |
| 90th | $75,900 |
| Mean (average) | $52,820 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IL | $75,050 | $75,082 | 4,910 |
| WA | $74,620 | $69,730 | 3,750 |
| NY | $64,950 | $60,183 | 11,630 |
| CA | $64,890 | $58,607 | 13,930 |
| OR | $63,210 | $61,155 | 2,500 |
| MN | $62,570 | $63,445 | 2,500 |
| NV | $61,310 | $61,323 | 770 |
| DE | $61,290 | $61,408 | 600 |
| CO | $60,310 | $58,524 | 3,700 |
| WI | $59,810 | $63,563 | 1,550 |
| UT | $59,310 | $59,992 | 960 |
| ND | $59,000 | $66,323 | 360 |
| IN | $58,900 | $63,110 | 3,180 |
| HI | $56,270 | $51,177 | 770 |
| RI | $55,970 | $54,722 | 470 |

38 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 53 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/refuse-and-recyclable-material-collector/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/refuse-and-recyclable-material-collector.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 147,900 in the 2024–2034 base year to 149,200 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 1,300 jobs, or +0.9%. Slower than average: 0.9% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 16,900 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2024–2034.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Short-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma | 81.5% |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 11.2% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 5.7% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 1.6% |

## What the work involves

- Dump refuse or recyclable materials at disposal sites.
- Refuel trucks or add other fluids, such as oil or brake fluid.
- Communicate with dispatchers concerning delays, unsafe sites, accidents, equipment breakdowns, or other maintenance problems.
- Inspect trucks prior to beginning routes to ensure safe operating condition.
- Operate equipment that compresses collected refuse.
- Fill out defective equipment reports.
- Check road or weather conditions to determine how routes will be affected.
- Clean trucks or compactor bodies after routes have been completed.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 1.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Static Strength — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reaction Time — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Trunk Strength — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 4.53 |
| I — Investigative | 1.83 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.36 |
| S — Social | 1.29 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 88.9 |
| ISFJ | 76.1 |
| ESTJ | 74.7 |
| ISTP | 74.4 |
| INTJ | 63.0 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Recycling and Reclamation Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/recycling-and-reclamation-worker) — median $40,240
- [Hazardous Materials Removal Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hazardous-materials-removal-worker) — median $49,450
- [Truck Driver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/truck-driver) — median $58,640
- [Recycling Coordinator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/recycling-coordinator) — median $62,840
- [Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tank-car-truck-and-ship-loader) — median $58,870
- [Septic Tank Servicer and Sewer Pipe Cleaner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/septic-tank-servicer-and-sewer-pipe-cleaner) — median $49,880
- [Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-truck-and-tractor-operator) — median $46,420
- [Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cleaner-of-vehicles-and-equipment) — median $35,830
- [Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/laborer-and-freight-stock-and-material-mover-hand) — median $40,240
- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator) — median $59,850

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 30.3 Database, May 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2024–2034. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/refuse-and-recyclable-material-collector