How To Become A Solid Waste Collector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a solid waste collector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a solid waste collector. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.48 an hour? That's $30,112 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 358,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSolid Waste CollectorUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,112

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.00%

Asian 3.03%

Black or African American 13.64%

Hispanic or Latino 24.49%

Unknown 3.50%

White 53.34%

Gender

female 3.09%

male 96.91%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a solid waste collector

Explore solid waste collector education requirements

Most common solid waste collector degrees

High School Diploma

55.9 %

Bachelor's

17.6 %

Diploma

17.6 %

Start to develop specific solid waste collector skills

Skills	Percentages
Yard Waste	39.13%
Hoisting	27.44%
Collection Vehicle	22.91%
Collection Routes	10.52%

Complete relevant solid waste collector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New solid waste collectors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a solid waste collector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real solid waste collector resumes.

Research solid waste collector duties and responsibilities

Used pitch forks, shovels and similar hand tools to pick up general refuse and trash from curbside and other areas.
Return products to Comcast corporate locations

Prepare your solid waste collector resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your solid waste collector resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a solid waste collector resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable solid waste collector resume templates

Build a professional solid waste collector resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your solid waste collector resume.