Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.
147,240 people do this job in the US. $49,690 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 6%
- 0%
- 94%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 5%. Today's estimate: 6%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive trucks, following established routes, through residential streets or alleys or through business or industrial areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 68% | 5 h2.5 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Dump refuse or recyclable materials at disposal sites.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Make special pickups of recyclable materials, such as food scraps, used oil, discarded computers, or other electronic items.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Organize schedules for refuse collection.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | 90%Half by now | |
| Inspect trucks prior to beginning routes to ensure safe operating condition.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean trucks or compactor bodies after routes have been completed.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 25 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Refuel trucks or add other fluids, such as oil or brake fluid.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 13 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Operate equipment that compresses collected refuse.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 1% | 3 min1 min to 7 min | Stays with people | |
| Dismount garbage trucks to collect garbage and remount trucks to ride to the next collection point.Done daily by most who do it. | 1% | 3 min1 min to 7 min | Stays with people | |
| Communicate with dispatchers concerning delays, unsafe sites, accidents, equipment breakdowns, or other maintenance problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 1.0% | 4 min3 min to 13 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Operate automated or semi-automated hoisting devices that raise refuse bins and dump contents into openings in truck bodies.Done daily by most who do it. | 0.9% | 3 min1 min to 7 min | Stays with people | |
| Fill out defective equipment reports.Done daily by most who do it. | 0.9% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Recycling and Reclamation Workers1% now, 1% by 2028
- Hazardous Materials Removal Workers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers15% now, 15% by 2028
- Recycling Coordinators28% now, 76% by 2028
- Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders20% now, 20% by 2028
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners6% now, 6% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).