← Occupation guides

53-7081.00 · Task explorer

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

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

Read the task inventory

This source lists 14 tasks, including 11 marked Core and 3 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: 08/2023.

14 tasks shown

Core · Task 7170 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Inspect trucks prior to beginning routes to ensure safe operating condition.

Core · Task 7174 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Drive trucks, following established routes, through residential streets or alleys or through business or industrial areas.

Core · Task 7171 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Refuel trucks or add other fluids, such as oil or brake fluid.

Core · Task 20313 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Dump refuse or recyclable materials at disposal sites.

Core · Task 7172 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Fill out defective equipment reports.

Core · Task 7176 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Operate automated or semi-automated hoisting devices that raise refuse bins and dump contents into openings in truck bodies.

Core · Task 7177 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Dismount garbage trucks to collect garbage and remount trucks to ride to the next collection point.

Core · Task 7175 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Operate equipment that compresses collected refuse.

Core · Task 7178 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Communicate with dispatchers concerning delays, unsafe sites, accidents, equipment breakdowns, or other maintenance problems.

Core · Task 7179 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Check road or weather conditions to determine how routes will be affected.

Core · Task 7181 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Clean trucks or compactor bodies after routes have been completed.

Supplemental · Task 7180 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Tag garbage or recycling containers to inform customers of problems, such as excess garbage or inclusion of items that are not permitted.

Supplemental · Task 19932 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Make special pickups of recyclable materials, such as food scraps, used oil, discarded computers, or other electronic items.

Supplemental · Task 7183 · 08/2023 · Incumbent

Organize schedules for refuse collection.

Make the shortlist useful

  1. Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
  2. For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
  3. 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.

Keep your worksheet

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.