Sanitation Workers take trash to the curb, clean local streets and alleys and perform other tasks. Sanitation Workers may be employed in municipal sanitation departments, parks and recreation departments and other city agencies, or they could work in food service establishments such as restaurants and hotels.
Sanitation workers sweep streets and clean up public buildings, empty trash cans, wash windows and operate street sprinklers. They may drive trucks to deliver water or chemicals to a building. Sanitation workers are responsible for keeping the public areas of buildings clean and sanitary. A bachelor’s degree in administration in public administration is often useful for this job.
Sanitation workers are responsible for keeping the public environment clean and germ free. They also remove hazardous materials and take them to proper disposal locations where they can be handled by an expert. In other cases, a sanitation worker may remove the waste from a public place directly to another location such as a landfill, recycling plant or incinerator.
Salary For Sanitation Worker Overview
Salary for Sanitation Worker
Sanitation workers are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the streets, roads and parks of a city. In today’s market, sanitation workers are often unionized and make an average annual salary of $48,290. Some cities have higher pay rates than others, so you may want to do some research on what the going rate is in your area.
New York City sanitation worker salary
Sanitation workers in New York City earn an average annual salary of $46,890 per year. However, it is important to note that this figure includes all types of sanitation jobs within the city limits–including those who work at trash transfer stations and solid waste treatment facilities as well as those who work on the street sweeping crews or in other city departments related to waste management services. Therefore, if you are interested only in working as a street sweeper or litter picker then your annual salary may be much lower than this figure noted above.
Who Is A Sanitation Worker
A sanitation worker drives or rides along in a garbage truck and collects trash from local businesses and residents. They are responsible for removing trash and taking it to removal sites such as landfills.
A sanitation worker is responsible for keeping public areas clean and must adhere to environmental regulations. They are responsible for visiting numerous residential and commercial locations on a daily basis to collect solid and liquid waste either by manually collecting the garbage or using an automated garbage disposal truck. They also transport and dispose of garbage in a safe, effective, and environmentally friendly manner at a city or state-approved dumping site.
A knowledge of proper lifting techniques when handling heavy objects is required. So is experiencing working with hazardous materials and knowledge of proper waste disposal methods. They should have great physical fitness and strength, a good sense of direction, the ability to endure tough working conditions, and be punctual. They need a high school diploma and earn an average of $29,401 per year; that’s $14.14 per hour.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Sanitation Worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.89 an hour? That’s $33,056 a year!
How To Become a Sanitation Worker
If you’re interested in becoming a Sanitation Worker, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We’ve determined that 6.5% of Sanitation Workers have a bachelor’s degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.2% of Sanitation Workers have master’s degrees. Even though some Sanitation Workers have a college degree, it’s possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Sanitation Worker. When we researched the most common majors for a Sanitation Worker, we found that they most commonly earn High School Diploma degrees or Diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Sanitation Worker resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Bachelor’s Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Sanitation Worker. In fact, many Sanitation Worker jobs require experience in a role such as Cashier. Meanwhile, many Sanitation Workers also have previous career experience in roles such as Warehouse Worker or Machine Operator.
Sanitation Worker Duties & Responsibilities
This job is physically demanding, and requires candidates to be able to perform duties that include the following:
- Lift heavy objects and work in all weather conditions.
- Drive garbage trucks while others ride along.
- Operate the truck mechanisms for lifting, dumping, and setting the trash cans or dumpsters down.
- Perform some manual labor for items such as brush piles or furniture that trucks can’t lift.
The key responsibilities of this job include taking the garbage to an appropriate disposal facility such as a dump or landfill at the end of the day. These facilities have the staff and equipment to empty the trucks, but sometimes sanitation workers need to help.
Workers also maintain the truck. Since a garbage truck gets dirty in a hurry, sanitation workers clean garbage trucks on a routine basis. They may perform routine maintenance on the truck such as check the tire pressure, top off fluids, and inspect mechanical parts for unusual wear and tear.
Sanitation Worker Salary
A sanitation worker salary varies based on the area of expertise, level of experience, education, certifications, and other factors.1
- Median Annual Salary: $37,840
- Top 10% Annual Salary: More than $67,370
- Bottom 10% Annual Salary: Less than $22.780
