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Recycling and Reclamation Workers

  • Bright Outlook
  • Numerous Job Openings

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

What you’d do

  • 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.

Skills that matter

  • Operation and Control
  • Active Listening
  • Monitoring
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Critical Thinking
  • Quality Control Analysis

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Non-Ferrous Material Handler
  • Sort Line Worker
  • Sorter
  • Transfer Station Operator
  • Bobcat Driver
  • Box Sorter

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