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Recycling and Reclamation Workers

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

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Sort metals to separate high-grade metals, such as copper, brass, and aluminum, for recycling.
    • Collect recyclable materials from curbside for delivery to designated facilities.
    • 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.
    • Operate balers to compress recyclable materials into bundles or bales.
    • Clean materials, such as metals, according to recycling requirements.
    • Collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.
    • Operate automated refuse or manual recycling collection vehicles.
    • Record logs of recycled materials or waste chemicals removed from products.
    • 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.
    • Operate processing equipment, such as fiber-sorters and grinders, to sort, crush, or grind recyclable materials.
    • Clean recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris, or moving barrels and bins.
    • Extract chemicals from discarded appliances, such as air conditioners or refrigerators, using specialized machinery, such as refrigerant recovery equipment.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling.
    • Deposit recoverable materials into chutes or place materials on conveyor belts.

    Skills

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    N/A
    Workplace Documents
    N/A
    Graphic Literacy
    N/A

    Abilities

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    Knowledge

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 37600/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 18.08/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 112,590
    • Yearly Projected Openings 14560

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Self Control
    • Attention to Detail
    • Cooperation
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Belt conveyors
    • Blow torch
    • Cargo trucks
    • Claw hammer
    • Crushers
    • Desktop computers
    • Forklifts
    • Front end loaders
    • Grinding or polishing machines
    • Hex keys
    • Hoists
    • Ladders
    • Laser fax machine
    • Lifts
    • Locking pliers
    • Minivans or vans
    • Packaging compactors
    • Pallet trucks
    • Paper shredding machines or accessories
    • Personal computers
    • Photocopiers
    • Pocket calculator
    • Power drills
    • Power saws
    • Refrigerant compressors
    • Safety glasses
    • Screwdrivers
    • Skid steer loaders
    • Sorters
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Two way radios
    • Utility knives
    • Wire cutters

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Office suite software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
    Need help on researching occupations and careers? Download the Guide to Researching Occupations (PDF).

    Need help on how to research education and training programs? Download the Guide to Higher Education (PDF).

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    Workforce Supply Tool

    Workforce Supply Tool

    The Workforce Supply Tool provides statistics for the occupations in highest demand throughout Ohio.

    You can view statewide statistics as well as more region specific information.

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