Community Sentiment
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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Recycling Coordinators?
Task-level automation exposure for Recycling Coordinators: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
47%
weighted task index
23 of 23 tasks scored
Median Salary
$62,840 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — 53-1040 group row
Employment Level
Very High
633,400 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projection
Not projected
BLS's 2025–35 matrix has no equivalent code for this occupation — mostly military branches, which it does not project.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 47%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 8%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 61%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 11%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 10/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
23 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 39%
9 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 22%
6 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 40%
8 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#17888 · Core · 22% automatable
Oversee recycling pick-up or drop-off programs to ensure compliance with community ordinances.
physical manipulation — Material handling direction is on-floor supervision
Direct material handling or moving activities.
#17907 · Core · 82% automatable
Maintain logs of recycling materials received or shipped to processing companies.
text generation — Log delivery details into structured records
Record details of deliveries or shipments.
#17889 · Core · 22% automatable
Supervise recycling technicians, community service workers, or other recycling operations employees or volunteers.
physical manipulation — Material handling direction is on-floor supervision
Direct material handling or moving activities.
#17910 · Core · 80% automatable
Review customer requests for service to determine service needs and deploy appropriate resources to provide service.
information retrieval — Review customer records and summarize
Review customer information.
#17909 · Core · 30% automatable
Provide training to recycling technicians or community service workers on topics such as safety, solid waste processing, or general recycling operations.
interpersonal — Hands-on transport equipment training is physical and human
Train transportation or material moving personnel.
#17905 · Core · 55% automatable
Identify or investigate new opportunities for materials to be collected and recycled.
decision support — Program design aided; community rollout is human
Plan implementation or promotion of recycling programs.
#17890 · Supplemental · 25% automatable
Assign truck drivers or recycling technicians to routes.
situated mobility — Transport direction needs real-time operational control
Direct passenger or freight transport activities.
#17893 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Create or manage recycling operations budgets.
decision support — Operational planning drafted; execution accountability human
Plan work operations.
#17908 · Supplemental · 82% automatable
Prepare bills of lading, statements of shipping records, or customer receipts related to recycling or hazardous material services.
text generation — Log delivery details into structured records
Record details of deliveries or shipments.
#17906 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Inspect physical condition of recycling or hazardous waste facility for compliance with safety, quality, and service standards.
visual inspection — On-site standards inspection needs physical presence
Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with safety, quality, or service standards.
#17899 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Negotiate contracts with waste management or other firms.
interpersonal — Logistics contract negotiation needs mandate
Negotiate contracts for transportation, distribution, or logistics services.
#17892 · Supplemental · 25% automatable
Coordinate shipments of recycling materials with shipping brokers or processing companies.
situated mobility — Transport direction needs real-time operational control
Direct passenger or freight transport activities.
#17901 · Supplemental · 18% automatable
Operate recycling processing equipment, such as sorters, balers, crushers, and granulators to sort and process materials.
physical manipulation — Physical operation of packing/material processing machinery
Operate packing or other material processing equipment.
#17900 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Operate fork lifts, skid loaders, or trucks to move or store recyclable materials.
physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle and equipment operation
Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.
#17904 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Schedule movement of recycling materials into and out of storage areas.
decision support — Algorithmic scheduling with human oversight of constraints
Schedule operational activities.
#17902 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Oversee campaigns to promote recycling or waste reduction programs in communities or private companies.
decision support — Program design aided; community rollout is human
Plan implementation or promotion of recycling programs.
#17891 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Coordinate recycling collection schedules to optimize service and efficiency.
decision support — Algorithmic scheduling with human oversight of constraints
Schedule operational activities.
#17895 · Supplemental · 59% automatable
Develop community or corporate recycling plans and goals to minimize waste and conform to resource constraints.
text generation — Program plans drafted; stakeholder buy-in human
Develop program goals or plans. Plan implementation or promotion of recycling programs.
#17903 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Prepare grant applications to fund recycling programs or program enhancements.
decision support — Program design aided; community rollout is human
Plan implementation or promotion of recycling programs.
#17897 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Investigate violations of solid waste or recycling ordinances.
decision support — AI aids analysis, investigation is human-led
Investigate crimes committed within organizations.
#17896 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Implement grant-funded projects, monitoring and reporting progress in accordance with sponsoring agency requirements.
text generation — Program plans drafted; stakeholder buy-in human
Develop program goals or plans.
#17898 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Make presentations to educate the public on how to recycle or on the environmental advantages of recycling.
information retrieval — AI explains policies; human handles live questions
Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
#17894 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Design community solid and hazardous waste management programs.
text generation — Program plans drafted; stakeholder buy-in human
Develop program goals or plans.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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