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Recycling and Reclamation Workers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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

Related: Hazardous Materials Removal Workers Laborers & Freight, Stock, & Material Movers, Hand Packaging & Filling Machine Operators & Tenders Recycling Coordinators Refuse & Recyclable Material Collectors

Industries: Transportation & Storage Administration & Support Services Manufacturing Wholesale/Commercial Sales Retail

Summary
Details

Sort metals to separate high-grade metals, such as copper, brass, and aluminum, for recycling.
Collect recyclable materials from curbside for delivery to designated facilities.
Operate processing equipment, such as fiber-sorters and grinders, to sort, crush, or grind recyclable materials.
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 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.
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.
Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling.
Collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.
Operate balers to compress recyclable materials into bundles or bales.
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.
Clean materials, such as metals, according to recycling requirements.
Record logs of recycled materials or waste chemicals removed from products.
Operate automated refuse or manual recycling collection vehicles.
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.
Operate processing equipment, such as fiber-sorters and grinders, to sort, crush, or grind recyclable materials.
Clean recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris, or moving barrels and bins.

Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

45850/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

22.05/hr

Currently Employed

72,090

Yearly Projected Openings

10240

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Integrity
Self Control
Attention to Detail
Cooperation
Adaptability/Flexibility

Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Adjustable wrenches
Belt conveyors
Blow torch
Cargo trucks
Claw hammer
Crushers
Desktop computers
Forklifts
Front end loaders
Grinding or polishing machines
Hex keys
Hoists
Ladders
Laser fax machine
Lifts
Locking pliers
Minivans or vans
Packaging compactors
Pallet trucks
Paper shredding machines or accessories
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Pocket calculator
Power drills
Power saws
Refrigerant compressors
Safety glasses
Screwdrivers
Skid steer loaders
Sorters
Special purpose telephones
Two way radios
Utility knives
Wire cutters

Calendar and scheduling software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Statewide occupation search

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Recycling and Reclamation Workers

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES