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Date: 02/20/2026

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Inspect trucks prior to beginning routes to ensure safe operating condition.
    • Fill out defective equipment reports.
    • Drive trucks, following established routes, through residential streets or alleys or through business or industrial areas.
    • Dump refuse or recyclable materials at disposal sites.
    • Organize schedules for refuse collection.
    • Operate equipment that compresses collected refuse.
    • Tag garbage or recycling containers to inform customers of problems, such as excess garbage or inclusion of items that are not permitted.
    • Make special pickups of recyclable materials, such as food scraps, used oil, discarded computers, or other electronic items.
    • Dismount garbage trucks to collect garbage and remount trucks to ride to the next collection point.
    • Refuel trucks or add other fluids, such as oil or brake fluid.
    • Communicate with dispatchers concerning delays, unsafe sites, accidents, equipment breakdowns, or other maintenance problems.
    • Clean trucks or compactor bodies after routes have been completed.
    • Communicate with dispatchers concerning delays, unsafe sites, accidents, equipment breakdowns, or other maintenance problems.
    • Check road or weather conditions to determine how routes will be affected.
    • Operate automated or semi-automated hoisting devices that raise refuse bins and dump contents into openings in truck bodies.

    Skills

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • 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.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    3
    Graphic Literacy
    3

    Abilities

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    Knowledge

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • 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.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • 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.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • 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.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • 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.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • 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.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • 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.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • 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.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 48730/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 23.43/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 5,880
    • Yearly Projected Openings 730

    Typical Education

    Personality

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

    Tools

    • Cargo trucks
    • Container trailers
    • Desktop computers
    • Loading equipment
    • Packaging compactors
    • Personal computers
    • Two way radios

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Compliance software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Facilities management software
    • Map creation software
    • Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
    • Mobile location based services software
    • Time accounting software

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