Did you know that the average family throws out around five tonnes of waste every year? Waste management and refuse collection services collect, bury, burn or recycle it. And that is not counting commercial waste from shops, restaurants, factories and so on.

Local authorities may run their own refuse collection/waste management service or they may contract it out. Typically they send out teams of drivers and refuse loaders with a refuse collection vehicle to collect rubbish and take it to a tip.

Back at the depot, supervisors and managers organise regular and special collections and check work.

Work Environment

Refuse loaders and drivers work on board the refuse collection vehicle, outdoors, in the streets, at rubbish tips, landfill site, treatment plants and transfer stations. Supervisors are partly office-based but also outside, checking work on the streets.

Loaders and drivers wear high visibility padded jackets, overalls safety boots, gloves and waterproofs. Supervisors wear smart business wear and high visibility jackets while they are working outside.

Working hours are typically 37 per week, usually with early morning (around 7am) starts. Occasional weekend work may be required. In some areas, workers may have to cover seven-day 24-hour operations.

Daily Activities

Refuse collection teams collect rubbish from domestic, commercial and industrial properties, including bulky refuse. Loaders empty household bins, plastic sacks, wheeled bins and loose waste onto the vehicle, and leave the empty containers (where applicable) back at the collection point. They assist the driver in the safe moving of the vehicle on the streets and take rubbish to disposal points, such as tips or dumps.

Drivers lead the team of refuse loaders and drive the freighter or refuse vehicle. They supervise the collection of rubbish on regular and special collection rounds. They also conduct daily vehicle checks and undertake routine maintenance of the vehicle, ensuring that it is always clean and safe.

Supervisors work from depots, allocating work to teams and ensuring they complete it to schedule at the required standard. This includes checking worksheets and observing streets to see that work has been completed. They are responsible for ensuring teams have the right clothing and equipment, and they check and authorise payment claims.

Supervisors also carry out risk assessments and investigate any accidents or incidents that happen.

Skills & Interests

The main requirements are:

• good communications skills
• sufficient physical fitness to undertake the work for loaders and drivers
• good timekeeping abilities.

Entry Requirements

No academic qualifications are usually required for loaders and drivers. Loaders must usually be over 18 and drivers over 21. Drivers require the appropriate HGV driving licence. Supervisors often work their way up through the ranks, but it may be possible to start as a supervisor with four GCSEs/S grades (A-C/1-3) or equivalent.

Training is usually on-the-job and includes safety awareness, manual handling, health and safety, protective equipment, handling needles and customer service for loaders and drivers. Supervisors may work towards an HNC or NVQ/SVQ level 3 in waste management.

Estimated salary range

Salaries for full-time refuse loaders are likely to be between £11,000 and £17,000; for refuse drivers £15,000 to £20,000 and for supervisors £17,000 to £25,000.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

There are opportunities for work in refuse collection all around the UK, whether working directly for a local authority or for a contracted-out operator.

Loaders who gain the appropriate HGV driving licence may become a driver, while both loaders and drivers with sufficient experience can work their way up to supervisor.

For supervisors, career progression could be into a range of waste management jobs.

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