• Operate shredders to reclaim steel from discarded appliances.
• Collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.
• Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper, or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling.
• Extract chemicals from discarded appliances, such as air conditioners or refrigerators, using specialized machinery, such as refrigerant recovery equipment.

Typical day

On a daily basis, Recycling and Reclamation Workers remove copper from circuit boards. They collect recyclable materials from the curbside for delivery to designated facilities.

A typical day for a Recycling and Reclamation Worker will also include:

• Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper, or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling.
• Record logs of recycled materials or waste chemicals removed from products.
• Collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.
• Clean recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris or moving barrels and bins.
• Cut discarded products, such as appliances and automobiles, into small pieces using saws, blowtorches, or other hand or power tools.

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Recycling and Reclamation Workers also dismantle wrecked vehicles by removing parts and labeling and sorting parts into containers. They may also clean materials, such as metals, according to recycling requirements.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Recycling and Reclamation Workers 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. They might also cut discarded products, such as appliances and automobiles, into small pieces using saws, blowtorches, or other hand or power tools.

In addition, they collect and sort recyclable construction materials, such as concrete, drywall, plastics, or wood, into containers.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them extract chemicals from discarded appliances, such as air conditioners or refrigerators, using specialized machinery, such as refrigerant recovery equipment.

To some Recycling and Reclamation Workers, it is also their responsibility to clean the recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris, or moving barrels and bins.