Solid Waste Collector (w/ CDL)

Position Description

Work. Serve. Thrive. With the City of Durham
Advance in your career while making a real difference in the community you serve.

The Environmental and Street Services Department collaborates with community partners to provide exceptional customer service and outstanding management of waste collection, recycling and disposal services that are safe, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sound. Our work enhances the appearance of the City while ensuring its sustainability. If you're looking for meaningful work and the chance to serve, bring your skills and talent to Durham!



Hiring Range: $52,222.00 - $63,480.00
Workdays/Hours: Monday thru Thursday, 6:00am to 4:00pm, Fridays when required



The purpose of this position is to provide collecting, transporting and disposing municipal solid, yard waste, and recycling through the performance of semi-skilled and skilled labor and technical work. Incumbents perform standardized work following prescribed procedures and instructions, requiring minimal prior training or experience. There is an established and specified routine to be followed and limited decision-making, restricted to choosing and safely using the proper work tools.

An incumbent is responsible for performing manual labor; assisting with projects that require semi-skilled labor; providing customer service; and reporting maintenance needs to higher authority that fall outside of the scope of the work assigned.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Assisting customers with picking up or removing solid waste, recyclable goods or yard waste debris in residential neighborhoods.
• Ability to have great customer service skills while interacting with the public.
• Lift up to 75lbs.
• Assists driver with route collection.
• Backup for equipment operators including rear-end loader, automation truck, knuckle-boom, front end loader, and other heavy machinery.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• High School Diploma or equivalent (GED, HiSet, TASC).
• Two years of maintenance experience related to assignment.
• A valid North Carolina Class B Commercial Driver’s License with a satisfactory driving record, which require the ability to serve as a back-up driver of a collection vehicle.
• Position is critical to emergency operations and will report to work in spite of or because of an emergency or disaster event.

Additional Preferred Skills

• Customer service experience.
• Willingness to work in all types of weather conditions.
• Knowledge of correct lifting techniques.
• Ability to use in-vehicle technology for driving routing and identification of route and customer issues.
• Ability to operate heavy-duty equipment for the collection of solid waste and recyclable materials.
• Be able to push and/or pull up to minimum of 900 carts daily.
• Able to walk long periods of time.
• Frequently be able to step on and off the truck
• Physically able to ride on the back of a garbage truck
• Understand and follow oral instructions.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• This position requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when working in situations where social distancing cannot be achieved.

Benefits – General Full-Time Employees

• 12-13 paid holidays per year
• 13 standard work days of vacation per year
• 13 standard work days of sick leave per year, which accumulates indefinitely; sick leave may be used toward early retirement
• 2 weeks paid military leave per year
• Medical, dental, vision, and supplemental life insurance plans
• State and City retirement plans
• Short and long term disability plans
• Paid temporary disability leave for specified conditions
• City contribution of 13.6% into the N.C. State Retirement System
• Paid funeral leave
• Employee Assistance Program - personal and family counseling
• Paid life insurance equal to annual salary
• 48 hours for volunteer work each year*
• 4 hours parental leave each year
• Workman's Compensation Insurance
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plans

• 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)
• State retirement plan

• 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)
• State retirement plan effective first day of the month following date of hire
• Health insurance effective first day of the month following date of hire
• Dental and life insurance, after one year of service
• Pro-rated vacation, pro-rated sick, pro-rated floating holiday, parttime holiday pay (based on scheduled hours for that day) after one year of service