How to become a garbage and recycling collector
Official title: Garbage and recycling collectors
Also called: Dustman/woman, Recycling collector, Refuse collector
Garbage collectors collect and remove rubbish and items for recycling from buildings, yards, streets and other places.
Main tasks
- Collecting rubbish and recyclable materials and locating them into bins and garbage and recycling trucks
- Riding on or in garbage and recycling trucks
- Lifting garbage bins and emptying contents into trucks and larger containers
- Unloading garbage and recycling trucks
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$14,400 a month
- About 337,600 people in 2025, and about 334,700 projected by 2028. (-0.8%)
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a garbage and recycling collector?
Usually not. Only 5% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a garbage and recycling collector?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (Annual Earnings and Hours Survey): Monthly and hourly wage percentiles by occupational group (5 groups) (Tables 220-23014, 220-23024, 220-23003) (2025 (May to June 2025), released 2026-03-23), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026