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Recycling Coordinator

Environment

Supervise curbside and drop-off recycling programs for municipal governments or private firms.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Logistics & Supply ChainScience

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Oversee recycling pick-up or drop-off programs to ensure compliance with community ordinances.
  2. 2Assign truck drivers or recycling technicians to routes.
  3. 3Maintain logs of recycling materials received or shipped to processing companies.
  4. 4Create or manage recycling operations budgets.
  5. 5Prepare bills of lading, statements of shipping records, or customer receipts related to recycling or hazardous material services.
  6. 6Supervise recycling technicians, community service workers, or other recycling operations employees or volunteers.
  7. 7Inspect physical condition of recycling or hazardous waste facility for compliance with safety, quality, and service standards.
  8. 8Negotiate contracts with waste management or other firms.
  9. 9Coordinate shipments of recycling materials with shipping brokers or processing companies.
  10. 10Operate recycling processing equipment, such as sorters, balers, crushers, and granulators to sort and process materials.
  11. 11Review customer requests for service to determine service needs and deploy appropriate resources to provide service.
  12. 12Operate fork lifts, skid loaders, or trucks to move or store recyclable materials.
  13. 13Schedule movement of recycling materials into and out of storage areas.
  14. 14Oversee campaigns to promote recycling or waste reduction programs in communities or private companies.
  15. 15Provide training to recycling technicians or community service workers on topics such as safety, solid waste processing, or general recycling operations.
  16. 16Coordinate recycling collection schedules to optimize service and efficiency.
  17. 17Develop community or corporate recycling plans and goals to minimize waste and conform to resource constraints.
  18. 18Prepare grant applications to fund recycling programs or program enhancements.
  19. 19Identify or investigate new opportunities for materials to be collected and recycled.
  20. 20Investigate violations of solid waste or recycling ordinances.
  21. 21Implement grant-funded projects, monitoring and reporting progress in accordance with sponsoring agency requirements.
  22. 22Make presentations to educate the public on how to recycle or on the environmental advantages of recycling.
  23. 23Design community solid and hazardous waste management programs.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Agency Operator
  • Recycling Sorter
  • Recycling Worker
  • Route Supervisor
  • Materials Manager
  • Recycling Manager
  • Recycle Supervisor
  • Recycling Operator
  • Recycle Coordinator
  • Recycling Specialist

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BusinessDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service83%
  • Administration and Management79%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Administrative75%

    Business

  • Education and Training74%
  • Production and Processing72%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Mathematics71%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Time spent sittingMost of the time
  • Time spent standingMost of the time
  • Time walking or movingA little

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

31%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Commercial Pilot

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Recycling Coordinators

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org