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Useful experience for rubbish/recycling collectors includes physical labour or driving heavy vehicles.

Rubbish/recycling collectors may do some or all of the following:

• drive or ride on a rubbish/recycling truck
• pick up bags or bins of rubbish/recycling and throw them into the truck
• operate machines to pick up bins 
• separate rubbish from recycling
• operate equipment that crushes rubbish and items for recycling
• unload and clean rubbish/recycling trucks
• drive forklifts or vehicles with tracks or rollers.

Regular vacancies for rubbish/recycling collectors due to high staff turnover

Rubbish/recycling collector vacancies arise regularly because staff turnover is high due to the early hours and hard physical work. However, vacancies are limited by the small size of the industry.

According to the Census, 615 rubbish/recycling collectors worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Increasing importance of recycling creates demand for rubbish/recycling collectors

There is good demand for rubbish/recycling collectors for kerbside recycling for residential households and businesses for local councils, and for providing specialist recycling collections for industrial companies.

An increasing demand for clean, sorted waste could increase the demand for recycling collectors. 

Councils and waste management businesses biggest employers

Most rubbish/recycling collectors work for city and regional councils or waste management companies.

Some rubbish/recycling collectors are self-employed and work as owner-drivers, contracting their services to waste management businesses.

Rubbish/recycling collectors may move into management roles or into operating machinery or driving heavy vehicle jobs.

• Heavy truck driver

Rubbish/recycling collectors need to be:

• practical, with an eye for detail
• quick and efficient
• punctual.