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53-7062.04 · Task explorer

Recycling and Reclamation Workers: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

Prepare and sort materials or products for recycling. Identify and remove hazardous substances. Dismantle components of products such as appliances.

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This source lists 14 tasks, including 5 marked Core and 9 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.

Task source dates: 07/2012.

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14 tasks shown

Core · Task 17872 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling.

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Core · Task 17884 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Clean recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris, or moving barrels and bins.

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Core · Task 17878 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

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.

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Core · Task 17882 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Sort metals to separate high-grade metals, such as copper, brass, and aluminum, for recycling.

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Core · Task 17886 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

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.

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Supplemental · Task 17885 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.

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Supplemental · Task 17871 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Extract chemicals from discarded appliances, such as air conditioners or refrigerators, using specialized machinery, such as refrigerant recovery equipment.

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Supplemental · Task 17874 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Deposit recoverable materials into chutes or place materials on conveyor belts.

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Supplemental · Task 17877 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Operate balers to compress recyclable materials into bundles or bales.

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Supplemental · Task 17883 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Clean materials, such as metals, according to recycling requirements.

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Supplemental · Task 17881 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Record logs of recycled materials or waste chemicals removed from products.

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Supplemental · Task 17879 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Operate processing equipment, such as fiber-sorters and grinders, to sort, crush, or grind recyclable materials.

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Supplemental · Task 17873 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Collect recyclable materials from curbside for delivery to designated facilities.

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Supplemental · Task 17876 · 07/2012 · Incumbent

Operate automated refuse or manual recycling collection vehicles.

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Make the shortlist useful

Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.

The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.

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Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.