Recycling-related work spans collection, sorting, materials recovery, transportation, reuse, and supporting business activity. EPA model estimates counted 681,000 U.S. recycling and reuse jobs in 2012, while more recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data show 94,170 refuse and recyclable material collectors in waste management and remediation services in 2025. These figures describe different measures and should not be treated as a single current headcount.
Contents
- U.S. recycling jobs and economic contribution
- Historical employment and industry scale
- Waste-management occupations connected to recycling
- Pay, hours, safety, and productivity
- State patterns for collectors
- Metro-area patterns for collectors
U.S. recycling jobs and economic contribution
The EPA’s Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report estimated that recycling and reuse activities accounted for 681,000 U.S. jobs in 2012. Those activities produced $37.8 billion in wages and generated $5.5 billion in tax revenues during the same year. The figures are model-based estimates of recycling and reuse activity, not a current occupational headcount.
The 2012 estimates represented 0.47% of the U.S. economy by jobs, 0.58% by wages, and 0.78% by tax revenues. On a material basis, the national averages were 1.17 jobs, $65,230 in wages, and $9,420 in tax revenues per 1,000 U.S. tons of recyclables collected and recycled.
The EPA’s 2020 Recycling Economic Information Report provides additional context about how these totals were built. In its 2020 REI model, indirect impacts contributed 45% of recycling-related employment, 43% of recycling-related wages, and 41% of recycling-related tax contributions. “Indirect” here means activity supported through connected suppliers and economic relationships, so the total is broader than people working directly at a recycling facility or collection route.
The same comparison reported $1.2 billion more recycling-related wages in 2012 than in 2007, but 76,000 fewer recycling-related jobs. It also reported $1.3 billion less recycling-related tax revenue in 2012 than in 2007. These comparisons describe the model’s historical estimates for the two periods; they are not a current forecast or a direct measure of changes in today’s hiring.
Historical employment and industry scale
EPA estimated 757,325 U.S. jobs attributable to recycling activity in 2007. The estimate included $36.636597 billion in wages and $6.795244 billion in tax revenues. On a material basis, the 2007 estimate equated to 1.57 jobs, $76,030 in wages, and $14,101 in tax revenues per 1,000 short tons of recycled material.
The difference between the 2007 and 2012 measures illustrates why a year should always accompany a recycling jobs statistic. The 2007 estimate used a different historical point and reported jobs per 1,000 short tons, while the 2012 national average used U.S. tons of recyclables collected and recycled. Neither measure should be used to calculate an unsupported trend without reconciling the underlying methods.
An earlier national study, summarized by EPA in Results of the National REI Study, counted approximately 56,000 recycling and reuse establishments. That study estimated more than 1.1 million people employed in recycling and reuse, nearly $37 billion in annual payroll, and more than $236 billion in annual gross revenues. The study uses older source data, and its results should not be presented as independently verified current totals.
Together, these historical sources show that recycling and reuse can be measured as a wide economic system rather than only as a collection occupation. Establishments, direct jobs, supplier-supported jobs, payroll, taxes, and material throughput answer different questions. A reader comparing statistics should check whether the number is an estimate, which year it covers, and whether it includes reuse and indirect activity.
Waste-management occupations connected to recycling
The BLS Waste Management and Remediation Services: NAICS 562 data provide a more recent industry view. In 2025, waste management and remediation services included 94,170 refuse and recyclable material collectors, 40,700 hazardous materials removal workers, 31,820 laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, 17,420 septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners, and 67,750 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
These occupation counts are useful for understanding the workforce around recycling operations, but they are not recycling-only totals. NAICS 562 includes materials recovery facilities and other waste-management activities beyond recycling. The BLS occupation counts also identify occupations common to the industry, rather than proving that every worker handled recyclable materials.
The industry’s seasonally adjusted employment was 524,800 in August 2026, preliminarily. Seasonally adjusted production and nonsupervisory employment was 446,600 in July 2026, preliminarily. The unemployment rate for people previously employed in waste management and remediation services was 1.2% in August 2026.
These 2026 BLS values are reported as preliminary measurements. They are not forecasts, and they should not be blended with the EPA’s 2007 or 2012 model estimates as though all three datasets counted the same population.
Pay, hours, safety, and productivity
For refuse and recyclable material collectors in waste management and remediation services, the 2025 median hourly wage was $25.40 and the median annual wage was $52,840. The mean annual wage was $54,300. Median and mean wages answer different questions: the median identifies the midpoint, while the mean is affected by the distribution of pay.
The broader industry reported average hourly earnings of $35.21 for all employees in July 2026, preliminarily, with average weekly hours of 42.1. For production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings were $32.57 and average weekly hours were 41.6 in July 2026, preliminarily. These are industry averages, not collector-specific wages or guaranteed schedules.
Workplace safety data also cover the broader waste-management and remediation industry. It recorded 102 workplace fatalities in 2024. The total recordable injury and illness rate was 3.5 cases per 100 full-time workers, while the rate of cases involving days away, job restriction, or transfer was 2.7 per 100 full-time workers.
The private-industry segment had 38,508 establishments in the first quarter of 2026, preliminarily. Waste management and remediation services total factor productivity fell 2.0% in 2024. Establishment counts, injury rates, and productivity changes describe business and operating conditions; they do not identify how many of those establishments were dedicated exclusively to recycling.
| Measure | Value | Period | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collector median annual wage | $52,840 | 2025 | Waste management and remediation services |
| Collector mean annual wage | $54,300 | 2025 | Waste management and remediation services |
| Average weekly hours, all employees | 42.1 | July 2026, preliminary | Waste management and remediation services |
| Total recordable injury and illness rate | 3.5 per 100 full-time workers | 2024 | Waste management and remediation services |
| Private-industry establishments | 38,508 | Q1 2026, preliminary | Waste management and remediation services |
State patterns for collectors
The BLS Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors occupation data show substantial differences among states in May 2023. California had 12,700 collectors and a $60,920 annual mean wage. Texas had 10,800 collectors and a $41,170 annual mean wage, while Florida had 10,590 collectors and a $43,720 annual mean wage.
New York had 6,950 collectors with a $60,480 annual mean wage. Pennsylvania had 6,220 collectors with a $46,490 annual mean wage. The largest state employment totals in this group were therefore not identical to the highest reported wages: California and New York had high mean wages, while Texas and Florida had large employment counts but lower mean wages in the reported data.
Employment concentration provides another way to compare labor markets. Maine had 1,060 refuse and recyclable material collectors and the highest state employment concentration at 1.70 jobs per 1,000 jobs. Arkansas had 1,980 collectors and a concentration of 1.56 jobs per 1,000 jobs.
These figures cover the occupation “Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors,” which includes refuse collection alongside recyclable-material collection. They should not be interpreted as the number of recycling-only workers in each state.
Metro-area patterns for collectors
The New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area had 9,890 refuse and recyclable material collectors in May 2023. Other large reported metro-area totals included 3,440 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, 3,400 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, 3,040 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, 2,790 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, and 2,500 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell.
Where wages were reported, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had a $67,500 annual mean wage, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim had $57,140, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had $41,820, and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell had $49,910. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach had an employment concentration of 1.12 jobs per 1,000 jobs.
| Metropolitan area | Collectors | Reported annual mean wage or concentration |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City | 9,890 | Not supplied |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 3,440 | $67,500 mean wage |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 3,400 | $57,140 mean wage |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | 3,040 | 1.12 jobs per 1,000 jobs |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 2,790 | $41,820 mean wage |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | 2,500 | $49,910 mean wage |
The metro figures are occupation statistics, not counts of recycling facilities or recycling-only positions. They are most useful for comparing where refuse and recyclable material collection jobs are concentrated and how reported mean pay differs across selected labor markets.