Jobs / Physical work / 53-7062.04

Recycling and Reclamation Workers

Prepare and sort materials or products for recycling. Identify and remove hazardous substances. Dismantle components of products such as appliances.

US jobs
2,950,280 (SOC 53-7062 group, "Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand")
Median wage
$40,240 a year
Job family
Physical work

Can agents do the work of recycling and reclamation workers?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Physical work:

  • Task levelUnexploredNo benchmark in our collection covers this work yet.
  • Project levelUnexploredNo benchmark in our collection covers this work yet.

Unexplored territory

No benchmark in this atlas covers this work yet.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling.
  • Clean recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris, or moving barrels and bins.
  • 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.
  • Sort metals to separate high-grade metals, such as copper, brass, and aluminum, for recycling.
  • Clean, inspect, or lubricate recyclable collection equipment or perform routine maintenance or minor repairs on recycling equipment, such as star gears, finger sorters, destoners, belts, and grinders.
  • Collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.
  • Extract chemicals from discarded appliances, such as air conditioners or refrigerators, using specialized machinery, such as refrigerant recovery equipment.
  • Deposit recoverable materials into chutes or place materials on conveyor belts.
  • Operate balers to compress recyclable materials into bundles or bales.
  • Clean materials, such as metals, according to recycling requirements.
  • Record logs of recycled materials or waste chemicals removed from products.
  • Operate processing equipment, such as fiber-sorters and grinders, to sort, crush, or grind recyclable materials.
Other job titles for this occupation (24)

Bobcat Driver · Box Sorter · Convenience Recycle Center Technician (Convenience Recycle Center Tech) · Deconstruction and Decontamination Waste Operations Specialist (D and D Waste Operations Specialist) · Non-Ferrous Material Handler · Sort Line Worker · Sorter · Transfer Station Operator · Auto Dismantler · Computer Recycling Worker · Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Worker · Materials Sorter · Pallet Sorter · Reclamation Worker · Recyclable Materials Sorter · Recycling and Reclamation Worker · Recycling Sorter · Recycling Technician · Recycling Worker · Refuse and Recycling Worker · Refuse Laborer · Scrap Metal Processing Worker · Shredding Specialist · Waste Management Recycling Technician