Elka Maria 

Torpey

Elka Maria Torpey is an economist in the Office 

of Occupational 

Statistics and 

Employment Projections, BLS. She 

can be reached at 

(202) 691-5719 or 

at torpey.elka@

bls.gov.

I

t’s 6 a.m. Sunday, and Joanne Shafer is at 

Penn State’s Beaver Stadium. She’s helping to count recyclables from the football 

game the day before, one of many tasks she 

manages as a recycling coordinator for Centre 

County, Pennsylvania. “We have a good recycling program here, and we wanted to know 

how much was collected,” she says.

Weekend mornings at football stadiums 

might not seem like an obvious time and 

place to find recycling coordinators, but being 

adaptable is part of their job. Joanne knows 

this firsthand, because she has seen the work 

evolve in her nearly two decades on the job. 

“Over the past 20 years in the field,” says 

Joanne, “I’ve had the opportunity to watch 

this develop as a career path.”

Recycling coordinators supervise curbside 

and dropoff recycling programs for municipal 

governments or private firms. Today, recycling 

is mandatory in many communities. And 

advancements in collection and processing 

methods have helped to increase the quantity 

of materials for which the recycling coordinator is responsible.

In some communities, including Joanne’s, 

consumers presort their recyclable materials before the materials are sent to a transfer 

station or processing facility. In others, all 

recyclables are collected together and then are 

sorted at the facility. Both types of processing facilities prepare the sorted materials for 

shipment to the paper mills, glass plants, and 

other companies that create new products 

from recyclables.

The movement from consumer to company is what makes recycling a reality. After 

all, explains Joanne, “a product hasn’t been 

recycled unless a new product has been made 

from it.” Recycling coordinators spend time 

on the computer or the telephone arranging to 

sell commodities, such as paper or aluminum, 

to brokers and firms.

Many types of materials can be recycled. 

In addition to paper, glass, plastics, and metals, for example, construction materials, cell 

phones, and printer cartridges can all be collected for reuse. Joanne also helps coordinate 

collection of hazardous waste by organizing 

special collection days and making the public 

aware of them.

In fact, community outreach is an important part of a recycling coordinator’s job. 

Joanne speaks about recycling to local groups, 

such as the Girl Scouts or Rotary Club, and 

You’re a what?

Recycling coordinator

28 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Winter 2010–11
works with businesses to do waste assessments and to train employees about proper 

recycling methods. “I’ve worked with everyone from preschoolers to the elderly,” she 

says. “It helps to relate what you do to the big 

picture. I can show people that we removed 

the equivalent of 68,000 cars from the road or 

saved enough energy to power 28,000 households.”

As a recycling coordinator, Joanne is 

responsible for about 60 employees who collect recyclables and run the recycling processing facility in her county. Her personnel duties 

include coordinating collection schedules and 

assigning workers to the pickup routes.

Each recycling coordinator’s job is a 

little different, depending on the size of the 

program he or she oversees. A coordinator in 

charge of a small program, for example, might 

go out on a recycling truck for collection or 

operate a forklift in the processing facility. 

Recycling coordinators for large programs 

perform more administrative duties, such as 

managing contracts and budgets.

Data management skills, including the use 

of basic software programs, come in handy 

for administrative tasks. Coordinators evaluate the success of their program by analyzing 

information ranging from recycling rates to 

financial stability.

Communication skills are essential. In 

addition to speaking to the public, recycling 

coordinators create brochures and marketing 

material and write grant proposals, reports, 

and other documents, such as employee 

handbooks. Joanne also writes requests for 

proposals to hire specially trained contractors 

who can help handle and transport hazardous 

waste.

Requirements for becoming a recycling 

coordinator have changed in the two decades 

since Joanne started. Joanne doesn’t have a 

college degree, and her background is in hotel, 

restaurant, and institutional management. 

But most entry-level recycling coordinators 

today need at least a bachelor’s degree in a 

field related to recycling, such as environmental resources management or environmental 

education. In some States, such as New Jersey, 

recycling coordinators must be certified; in 

others, optional certification is available.

Work experience is also important for 

recycling coordinators. Jobs in municipal government, manufacturing, education, personnel management, or marketing provide good 

preparation. Volunteer or internship experience with a local recycling program or private 

waste management company is another way to 

gain practical knowledge.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does 

not collect employment or wage data for recycling coordinators. In 2009, first line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers (the occupational title under which 

recycling coordinators falls) earned a median 

annual wage of $42,940. Anecdotal evidence 

suggests that annual earnings for recycling 

coordinators range from the low $30,000s to 

as much as $100,000, depending on a recycling program’s size, the worker’s experience, 

and other factors.

For recycling coordinators, the passion 

for what they do is often a greater reward than 

the paycheck they get for doing it. “I have the 

opportunity to do something that makes a 

difference,” says Joanne. “I love watching fifth 

graders come in and say, ‘That’s cool. I’ll tell 

my mom not to throw that out.’ And then to 

tie it in with reducing greenhouse gas production—that’s very important to me.”

Photos of Joanne Shafer courtesy of Centre County Solid Waste Authority

Opposite page, Joanne 

Shafer examines 

materials for recycling. 

Above, she discusses 

program details with a 

local citizen.

Winter 2010–11 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 29