Career Explorer Transport and logistics
Human edge, steady
Refuse and recyclable material collectors
Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 56% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +2.1% by 2035, slower than average.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $49,690
- Job growth to 2035
- +2.1%
- Openings a year
- 15,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 156,000
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Gather data about operational or development activities
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Inspect vehicles
- Maintain vehicles in working condition
- Dispose of waste or debris
What the work looks like
- Inspect trucks prior to beginning routes to ensure safe operating condition.
- Drive trucks, following established routes, through residential streets or alleys or through business or industrial areas.
- Refuel trucks or add other fluids, such as oil or brake fluid.
- Dump refuse or recyclable materials at disposal sites.
- Fill out defective equipment reports.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as technological improvements, including automated side-loading trucks and the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) to enable more efficient collection routes, allow collection work to be done with fewer workers.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- DishwashersHuman edge, steady, Index 64, -1.0%
- Landscaping and groundskeeping workersHuman edge, growing, Index 79, +4.7%
- Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, handHuman edge, steady, Index 72, +1.8%
- Slaughterers and meat packersHuman edge, steady, Index 71, +2.0%
Also known as: Garbage Man, Roll Off Truck Driver, Sanitation Laborer, Trash Collector, Front Load Trash Truck Driver, Recycle Driver, Refuse Collector, Roll Off Container Truck Driver.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.