1 Hazmat & Hazardous Waste Jobs in Michigan

Nationally, Hazmat Waste Handler roles in the waste industry average $25.00 per hour, about $52,000 a year. Most positions fall between $18.27 and $34.62 per hour; those hourly figures are converted from annual pay at 2,080 hours per year, not separately surveyed. Actual pay in Michigan varies by employer, route type, and contract. Check each listing for the posted rate.

Emergency response, spill callouts and project deadlines generate substantial overtime and on-call pay, and travel-heavy remediation work often adds per diem. These premiums are a meaningful part of total earnings and are not captured in a base hourly figure.

Hazmat handling requires training, but that training is usually supplied by the employer rather than demanded up front. Environmental services contractors routinely hire field technicians with no hazardous-waste background and put them through HAZWOPER 40-hour certification, respirator fit testing and DOT hazmat training during onboarding. A clean driving record and the ability to pass a medical surveillance exam matter more at the hiring stage than prior experience.

Union coverage in hazardous waste is patchy. Handlers employed by municipalities or at unionised industrial sites may fall under a bargaining agreement, but the large environmental services contractors that do most remediation and emergency-response work are commonly non-union. Certification level and on-call availability drive pay differences here more than contract scale.

Most hazmat handler positions are full-time, and emergency-response and remediation work often involves travel and on-call rotations rather than reduced hours. Some contractors staff project and campaign work on a temporary basis, which can suit people looking for intermittent rather than part-time schedules.

Based on current listings on this site, the most openings are in Grand Rapids (1). Listing counts change as jobs are filled and new ones are posted.