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Waste treatment workers

How to become an Industrial Waste Collector

Also called: Rubble collector, Factory sludge collector, Liquid waste collector, Plastic waste collector, Medical waste collector

Collects industrial waste from construction sites, hospitals, factories and other places and takes it by collection vehicle to disposal sites.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualification is required to start, but because you drive vehicles a standard car licence is often required. A semi-medium, medium or heavy vehicle licence or licences for heavy machinery such as mobile cranes, forklifts and excavators are an advantage when applying, but you can also get them after joining. Environmental qualifications such as pollution control manager and qualifications related to the type of waste handled, such as hazardous materials handler, are useful in the job. If you take the relevant association's course as a waste treatment facility technical manager, who supervises staff maintaining waste treatment facilities, and are certified as a technical manager for a particular type of facility, you can take on more specialist work. Many people come to the job after working in various other jobs. After joining, you are trained in the daily work and related laws, and then learn the job through practice. The job suits people who are aware of issues such as protecting resources and the environment through conservation and recycling and who are committed to following rules such as safety procedures. You load industrial waste and sometimes go back and forth between the vehicle and storage areas, so a certain level of fitness is needed.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Industrial Waste Collector?

No particular education or qualification is required to start, but because you drive vehicles a standard car licence is often required. A semi-medium, medium or heavy vehicle licence or licences for heavy machinery such as mobile cranes, forklifts and excavators are an advantage when applying, but you can also get them after joining. Environmental qualifications such as pollution control manager and qualifications related to the type of waste handled, such as hazardous materials handler, are useful in the job. If you take the relevant association's course as a waste treatment facility technical manager, who supervises staff maintaining waste treatment facilities, and are certified as a technical manager for a particular type of facility, you can take on more specialist work. Many people come to the job after working in various other jobs. After joining, you are trained in the daily work and related laws, and then learn the job through practice. The job suits people who are aware of issues such as protecting resources and the environment through conservation and recycling and who are committed to following rules such as safety procedures. You load industrial waste and sometimes go back and forth between the vehicle and storage areas, so a certain level of fitness is needed.

How much does an Industrial Waste Collector earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,986,000 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Cleaners (except buildings) and waste workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an Industrial Waste Collector?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 11% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of an Industrial Waste Collector?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026