Solid waste technician vs environmental technician

The differences between solid waste technicians and environmental technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a solid waste technician and an environmental technician. Additionally, a solid waste technician has an average salary of $49,561, which is higher than the $39,690 average annual salary of an environmental technician.

Solid waste technician vs environmental technician overview

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Technician
Yearly salary	$49,561	$39,690
Hourly rate	$23.83	$19.08
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	11,925	43,079
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Solid waste technician vs environmental technician salary

Solid waste technicians and environmental technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Technician
Average salary	$49,561	$39,690
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $83,000	Between $30,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	Danbury, CT
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	City of Detroit
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between solid waste technician and environmental technician education

There are a few differences between a solid waste technician and an environmental technician in terms of educational background:

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Accounting	Environmental Science
Most common college	SUNY Farmingdale	Duke University

Solid waste technician vs environmental technician demographics

Here are the differences between solid waste technicians' and environmental technicians' demographics:

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8%	Male, 73.3% Female, 26.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 9.8% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between solid waste technician and environmental technician duties and responsibilities

Solid waste technician example responsibilities.

Provide cleaning services for bio-hazard recovery including homicides and suicides following appropriate regulatory waste standards and OSHA requirements.
Operate automated and semi-automate hoisting devices.

Environmental technician example responsibilities.

Lead a crew of twelve techs in various archaeological excavations.
Manage designated areas to ensure proper cleanliness and safety.
Manage daily RCRA inspections and mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment preventive/corrective maintenance procedures.
Provide contractor oversight, including monitoring of technical performance of sub-contractors managing remedial cleanup projects involving hazardous waste.
Assist with environmental projects such as groundwater monitoring, and spatial analysis using ArcGIS.
Perform physical labor associate with cleanup activities, sample collection, waste removal and other remediation service.

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Solid Waste Technician
Solid Waste Technician vs Environmental Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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