Recycling Coordinators

In November 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that the percentage of municipal solid waste that is recycled has grown from about 10 percent in 1985 to slightly more than 35 percent in 2017. This suggests that there will be growing demand for recycling coordinators. As states strive to meet their increasingly ambitious waste-reduction and recycling goals, people who can make it happen on the local level are going to be crucial. Although the recycling industry is subject to business fluctuations, demand and new technologies have created a viable market for recycled materials.

The recycling industry is also subject to political and social trends. Jobs will decline under administrations that do not allocate as much money for environmental concerns. On the other hand, more jobs may become available as engineers and technicians are attracted by the higher salaries offered in more popular technology- and finance-oriented fields. Environmental careers such as this one are also starting to be recognized as their own field, and not just sub-specialties of other fields, such as civil engineering.

Nationwide, the waste management and recycling industries will need more people to run recovery facilities, design new recycling technologies, come up with new ways to use recyclables, and do related work. Private businesses are also expected to hire recycling coordinators to manage in-house programs.