How to become a refuse sorter
Official title: Refuse sorters
Also called: Recycling worker, Scrap merchant, Waste picker
Refuse sorters identify, collect and sort discarded items suitable for recycling at dump sites and recycling enterprises or in buildings, streets and other public places.
Main tasks
- Searching through refuse and collecting items for recycling from dump sites, domestic, commercial and industrial premises or from public places such as streets
- Sorting cardboard, paper, glass, plastic, aluminium or other recyclable materials by type
- Placing recyclable items and materials in designated compartments and containers for storage or transportation
- Identifying and setting aside items of furniture, equipment, machinery, or components that are suitable for repair or re-use
- Transporting recyclable items by hand or using non-motorized vehicles
- Selling recyclable or reusable materials
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 refuse sorter?
Usually not. Only 5% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a refuse sorter?
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