What does a recycling technician do?
Recycling technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real recycling technician resumes:
- Handle hazardous materials according to OSHA standards.
- Sort a variety of recycle materials such as concrete, drywall, plastics and wood into containers or bucket loaders.
- Bale cardboard in baling machine.
- Experience with torches, saws, shredders and balers.
- Handle groundskeeper duties including mowing grass, removing weeds, and other landscaping.
- Work independently, using judgment and discretion in making decisions that directly impact facility compliance.
- Improve order processing and inventory logistics by adding labels to bin locations for easier identification and determination of equipment on hand.
- Work independently, using judgment and discretion in making decisions that directly impact facility compliance.
Recycling technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Recycling Technicians are proficient in Recyclable Materials, Pallets, and Pallet Jack. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Math skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Recycling Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Recyclable Materials, 18%
Deconstruct off-site buildings and recover recyclable materials.
- Pallets, 13%
Move and stack sets different items onto pallets to be shipped and sent out.
- Pallet Jack, 10%
Process inventory sheets and data for donated items, moved materials and equipment around with pallet jack for proper storage procedure.
- Routine Maintenance, 10%
Perform basic troubleshooting and routine maintenance of audio/video equipment as well as in cabin television troubleshooting on-board ships.
- Hazardous Waste, 9%
Followed all safety procedures, learned the principles and practices of toxic and hazardous waste management.
- Troubleshoot, 8%
Research and troubleshoot orders and discrepancies to maintain inventory integrity.
"recyclable materials," "pallets," and "pallet jack" are among the most common skills that recycling technicians use at work. You can find even more recycling technician responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a recycling technician to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what recycling technicians do because "production, planning, and expediting clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, and production managers and need to communicate the firm’s scheduling needs effectively." Additionally, a recycling technician resume shows how recycling technicians use communication skills: "maintain communication, providing updates and discussing issues with corporate business accounts maintain excellent records to insure outstanding customer service. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform recycling technician duties is math skills. Recycling technicians responsibilities require that "some material recording clerks use math to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." Recycling technicians also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "possess the ability to perform basic math calculations. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of recycling technicians is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday recycling technician duties, as "stock clerks sometimes interact with customers in retail stores and may have to get the item the customer is looking for from the storeroom." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide customer service upon drop off of recyclable materials by customers. "
Detail oriented. A big part of what recycling technicians do relies on "detail oriented." You can see how essential it is to recycling technician responsibilities because "material and product inspecting clerks check items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical recycling technician tasks: "verified details of transactions, inventory and medical equipment within the warehouse. "
The three companies that hire the most recycling technicians are:
- ABM Industries23 recycling technicians jobs
- Quad23 recycling technicians jobs
- Harsco9 recycling technicians jobs
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Compare different recycling technicians
Recycling technician vs. Transfer station operator
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a recycling technician are more likely to require skills like "recyclable materials," "pallets," "pallet jack," and "routine maintenance." On the other hand, a job as a transfer station operator requires skills like "loaders," "equipment maintenance," "landfill," and "roll-off truck." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, transfer station operators reach similar levels of education than recycling technicians. Transfer station operators are 0.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Recycling technician vs. Dismantler
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, recycling technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "recyclable materials," "pallets," "pallet jack," and "routine maintenance." Meanwhile, a dismantler has duties that require skills in areas such as "hand tools," "dismantle," "torches," and "osha." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, dismantlers achieve similar levels of education than recycling technicians. They're 0.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Recycling technician vs. Sort line worker
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from recycling technician resumes include skills like "recyclable materials," "pallets," "pallet jack," and "routine maintenance," whereas a sort line worker is more likely to list skills in "rf," "plastic bottles," "unacceptable materials," and "electrical components. "
Most sort line workers achieve a similar degree level compared to recycling technicians. For example, they're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Recycling technician vs. Metal sorter
Even though a few skill sets overlap between recycling technicians and metal sorters, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a recycling technician might have more use for skills like "recyclable materials," "pallets," "pallet jack," and "routine maintenance." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of metal sorters require skills like "stainless steel," "sort metals," "non-ferrous metals," and "torches. "
Metal sorters reach similar levels of education compared to recycling technicians, in general. The difference is that they're 0.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of recycling technician
Updated January 8, 2025
