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Recycling officer: Claire

This Case Study belongs to Recycling officer.

Claire studied environmental science while at university and now works as a recycling officer.

I chose to work in recycling as I have always been interested in environmental issues due to my rural upbringing. I enjoyed being outdoors as a teenager and was interested in protecting the natural environment. At the age of 14, I started doing voluntary work planting trees. After working in practical conservation, I moved into education which led to several jobs promoting recycling.

The requirement for my current job was a relevant degree and two years of experience. I held the EARA Advanced Environmental Auditors qualification which helped as they needed someone who could help businesses implement environmental management systems, particularly waste management. The job also includes a lot of communication which I had a strong background in.

I was attracted to this job as the emphasis is on working with businesses where you can have a huge influence. If you can persuade a CEO to act, you can really help reduce negative impacts of waste on the environment. 

Since I started, my job has changed radically. The council has gone from a weekly, residual bin collection to a fortnightly residual and mixed dry recyclable collection. I was involved in all the communication and publicity around that as well carrying out contamination checks.

I am also involved in developing, promoting and delivering the Environmental Education Programme throughout the borough to schools, community groups, businesses and the public. I deliver this programme and its messages through presentations, workshops, activities, competitions, events, website, local media, leaflets and advertising panels. I am an assessor for the Eco-Schools Programme and am also learning new skills such as keeping recycling web pages up to date.

Although I was initially employed to work with schools and businesses, I’m now involved in lots of other activities including training staff and setting up an Environmental Management System for the council. I also contribute to the development and delivery of the Council’s Waste Management Plan.

Every day is different. I could be teaching nursery school children in the mornings, carrying out an environmental audit with the CEO of a business in the afternoon and talking about recycling to a group in the evening. I’m out and about most days and not office-bound. I still occasionally have to do presentations that scare me - and that’s great!

I would say to students considering this area that rubbish and waste is much more interesting than you might imagine! When I deliver talks, I often have someone come up to me at the end to say that they were surprised how interesting the topic is. If you decide you do want to work in recycling, gain as much early experience as you can, especially through volunteering opportunities. Apply for jobs and go for interviews to practise. Ask for feedback if you’re unsuccessful. Look at job specifications to find out what employers are after and play to your strengths and interests.

Case Study sourced by Annette Millar of University of Plymouth, 18 December 2009.