As of June 2026, Recycling and Reclamation Workers has an AI-exposure score of 42/100 (Moderate exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Recycling and Reclamation Workers
More exposed than 15% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$40,240. About 384,300 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
How you compare to similar Transportation roles
Your tasks, by AI exposure
No automatable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (86%).
- Record logs of recycled materials or waste chemicals removed from products.
- Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling.
- Sort metals to separate high-grade metals, such as copper, brass, and aluminum, for recycling.
- Collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.
- Operate processing equipment, such as fiber-sorters and grinders, to sort, crush, or grind recyclable materials.
- Clean, inspect, or lubricate recyclable collection equipment or perform routine maintenance or minor repairs on recycling equipment, such as star gears, finger sorters, destoners, belts, and grinders.
- Deposit recoverable materials into chutes or place materials on conveyor belts.
- Clean recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris, or moving barrels and bins.
- Operate balers to compress recyclable materials into bundles or bales.
- Operate automated refuse or manual recycling collection vehicles.
- Clean materials, such as metals, according to recycling requirements.
- Operate forklifts, pallet jacks, power lifts, or front-end loaders to load bales, bundles, or other heavy items onto trucks for shipping to smelters or other recycled materials processing facilities.
- Extract chemicals from discarded appliances, such as air conditioners or refrigerators, using specialized machinery, such as refrigerant recovery equipment.
- Collect recyclable materials from curbside for delivery to designated facilities.
Safer adjacent roles
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Recycling and Reclamation Workers — median pay by US state (BLS OEWS, USD)
Median annual wage, in USD. US national: US$40,240. More states are being added.