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Boston Career Explorer

Transportation and Material Moving

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.

Also called: Front Load Trash Truck Driver, Garbage Man, Recycle Driver, Refuse Collector, Roll Off Container Truck Driver, Roll Off Truck Driver

Median pay in Greater Boston
$50,210
$24.14/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
540
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+1.5%
140 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$39,880$45,040$50,210$62,360$65,340

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Operate automated or semi-automated hoisting devices that raise refuse bins and dump contents into openings in truck bodies.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure19 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 7
  • Language-model AIOE 9
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 40

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is lower, and little or no AI use has been observed so far. AI tools could help with paperwork like defective equipment reports, or with planning routes. They do not do the hands-on work of driving the truck, collecting materials, and dumping them at disposal sites.

Likely to change

  • Filling out defective equipment reports
  • Planning and following collection routes

Still relies on people

  • Driving through streets and alleys safely
  • Collecting and dumping materials by hand

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

    Your truck inspections, fluid checks, and equipment reports carry over to truck repair, which pays about $75,770 in Boston and builds on that knowledge.

    Pay difference
    +$25,560 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +5.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

    Your truck driving and safety habits carry over to running heavy equipment, which pays about $76,940 in Boston with moderate on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$26,730 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.3%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Crane and Tower Operators

    Your experience with large vehicles and safe operation carries over to crane work, which pays about $98,140 in Boston and is growing fast.

    Pay difference
    +$47,930 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +16.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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