Recycling officer

Recycling officers organise the recycling or re-use of a wide range of waste materials, such as paper and glass, within local communities. They also have an educational role, promoting recycling.

Also known as:

• Environmental officer
• Waste recycling officer

Work activities

Recycling officers organise the recycling of waste. They also promote recycling. Recycling facilities include bottle, can, paper and textile banks. They are often in places that attract a lot of people and are easy to get to, such as car parks, supermarkets and housing estates. There are also recycling centres at civic amenity sites (usually called “tips” or “dumps”) and sometimes next to landfill sites. Recycling officers are responsible for making sure that people have suitable recycling opportunities and facilities. Ensuring that people have the appropriate recycling container is also a feature of this role.

Recycling officers may be responsible for arranging contracts with companies that take away waste material for recycling. They might also work with the owners of disposal sites.

Recycling officers also have a very important educational role. This may involve giving talks to schoolchildren and other groups in the community who are interested in environmental issues. They may also arrange visits to recycling centres and promote sustainable recycling activities by producing leaflets and booklets. Recycling officers aim to increase the number of recycling sites and the amount of material recycled. This involves a lot of planning. They carry out duties such as writing reports for council committees, keeping records and influencing or controlling budgets. They may also attend committee meetings.

Being able to read, write and speak Welsh may be an advantage when you’re looking for work in Wales.

Personal qualities and skills

To do this job well, you’ll need:

• A passion for protecting the environment.
• Presentation skills.
• To be aware of environmental issues and legislation.
• Writing skills.
• To be able to explain to the public the benefits of recycling.
• Good organisational and planning skills as the work you will do is so varied.
• The ability to negotiate.
• Good problem-solving skills.

Pay and opportunities

The pay rates given are approximate. Recycling officers may have the ability to earn in the range of £22,500, rising to £35,000 with experience.

Recycling officers work 37-39 hours a week with occasional night and weekend duties. Many local authorities offer a flexitime work arrangement.

Most recycling officers work for local authorities. There are some opportunities within the private sector with waste disposal companies and large businesses that want to improve environmental standards. In these settings, however, the work may not only deal with recycling so a different job title may be used. Opportunities for recycling officers occur with employers in towns and cities throughout the UK.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised on all the major job boards, on the LG jobs website, and on the Government’s Find a Job service.

Entry routes and training

Although there are no formal minimum entry requirements for this type of work, those who go into recycling officer posts from full-time education are often science graduates. Suitable degree subjects include environmental science and waste management. There are also relevant postgraduate qualifications. It is possible to become a recycling officer without a degree but you might need relevant experience within local government or waste management, and a good general education. It’s useful to show a practical interest in the environment, for example, through membership of an environmental organisation.

Training is mainly on-the-job combined with courses run by organisations such as the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.

Some recycling officers go on to become waste managers. Local authorities have a structured set of promotion routes.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: Jobs that involve working with children, disabled people and the vulnerable are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

To enter a relevant degree course, you will usually need:

• Two to three A-levels. Science subjects would be useful.
• GCSEs at grades 9-4 in your A-level subjects.
• A further two to three GCSEs at grades 9-4, including English and maths.
• Science subjects would be also useful.

Other qualifications are often acceptable as alternatives to A-levels, for example:

• Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 National qualifications.
• The International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. However, entry requirements for different courses vary, so check university prospectuses for more details.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Relevant skills gained in local government, particularly in waste management or in pollution/effluent control, or for private waste disposal contractors are useful. Skills gained in the voluntary sector are also useful. This could be in conservation work, recycling schemes and local environmental projects.

If you don’t have the qualifications needed to enter your chosen degree or HND course, a college or university Access course could be the way in. These courses are designed for people who have not followed the usual routes into higher education. No formal qualifications are usually needed, but you should check this with individual colleges.

Various institutions offer degree-level and postgraduate qualifications in relevant environmental subjects.

Related careers

• Countryside manager
• Countryside ranger
• Environmental conservation officer
• Environmental health practitioner
• Landscape manager
• Recycling advisor