Waste collector

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"Dustman" redirects here. For the Mega Man enemy, see Robot Master.
A smiling city worker prepares to unload new trash containers from a truck and distribute them to citizens of Basra, Iraq, July 1, 2009.

A waste collector is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and remove refuse and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal. Specialised waste collection vehicles featuring an array of automated functions are often deployed to assist waste collectors in reducing collection and transport time and for protection from exposure. Waste and recycling pickup work is physically demanding and it exposes workers to a number of occupational hazards.


Statistics show waste collection to be one of the most dangerous jobs, at times even more dangerous than police work, but consistently less dangerous than commercial fishing and ranch and farm work. On-the-job hazards include broken glass; medical waste such as syringes; caustic chemicals; falling objects from overloaded containers; diseases that may accompany solid waste; asbestos; dog attacks and pests; inhaling dust, smoke, and fumes; inclement weather, traffic accidents, and odors so foul that they can make one physically sick.


Tip scavengers and recyclers[edit]

In developing countries waste collection is often accomplished before conventional waste collectors by Waste pickers who may be self-financing through recycling and repair and/or reselling. Examples include the "Bottley-walla", recycler of printed material, bottles, in India, castes such as the Zabbaleen in Egypt, or tip scavenger groups in Brazil such as documented in Hauling (film).

Regional colloquialisms[edit]

Notable individuals[edit]

Waste collection vehicle operating in the streets of Prague

Former waste collectors

Fictional waste collectors

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Business Insider: The 15 Most Dangerous Jobs In America
  2. ^ Risk Management Monitor: The 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in America
  3. ^ Note that the Australian term "garbo" stems from a now-disused street cry used by garbagemen during the early 20th century. "The silence of the bottle-oh". The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW). 15 December 1951. p. 2. 
  4. ^ Note that the British term "dustman" stems from the Victorian era, when men would collect the dust - ashes and cinders - created by the many tons of fossils fuels burned in cooking ranges at the time. Victorian London
  5. ^ http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/sanitation+engineer
  6. ^ Q&A with Georges St. Pierre