Hazardous Waste Technician Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

By | August 15, 2023
Hazardous Waste Technician Job Description
Hazardous Waste Technicians ensure their duties are performed in compliance with state regulations and pollution prevention act.

Hazardous Waste Technician Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides exhaustive information on the job description of a hazardous waste technician to help you learn what they do.

It presents the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities that characterize the hazardous waste technician work description in most organizations.

It also presents the major requirements recruiters commonly expect applicants for the hazardous waste technician position to fulfill to be hired.

Please, continue reading to improve your knowledge of the hazardous waste technician career:

What Does a Hazardous Waste Technician Do?

The hazardous waste technician is responsible for the proper and adequate management of the installation and operation of hazardous waste facilities in accordance with state regulations, pollution prevention act, and the installation of hazardous waste management plan.

They are responsible for the management and accomplishment of HW goals such as waste pickup and the 90-day Hazardous Waste Accumulation Point (HWAP)/Hazardous Waste Storage Facility HWSF.

They are also responsible for the administration of the HW module in the EESOH-MIS database, general HW operations, and Industrial Recycling processes.

The hazardous waste technician job description also involves ensuring compliance with the organization’s policies and goals on HW reduction.

It also entails carrying out waste sampling, characterization and profile generation, and preparing HW containers for shipment, as well as coordinating with transport/disposal contractors.

Hazardous waste technicians are responsible for managing non-hazardous industrial and special waste, used oil, and off-spec fuel etc.

They prepare waste for shipment and pick-up waste for transfer to the central accumulation area.

They also perform compliance inspections of HW installations at Satellite Accumulation Points, and track all HW containers from the point of generation until they reach the final disposal facility.

Hazardous Waste Technician Job Description Example/Sample/Template

The hazardous waste technician is responsible for several activities, including waste consolidation, segregation of HW management of waste turn-in, and preparation of HW for shipment; management of non-hazardous waste such as used oil and off-spec fuel, facility inspections, and container inspections; testing of equipment, contingency planning, and housekeeping; container management and the management of facility maintenance work orders.

They perform their duties both indoors and outdoors at plants, labs, and customer sites.

The primary tasks, duties, and responsibilities that usually make up the job description of a hazardous waste technician are shown below:

  • Comply with all safe work practices, policies, and processes, and acting in a safe manner at all times to guarantee health and safety
  • Responsible for safe and compliant execution of lab pack projects/jobs
  • Responsible for the correct packaging of material/waste and off-specification of commercial products
  • Label drums appropriately and assure driver of an expedient pick-up
  • Appropriately load/pack materials and wastes properly and segregate them for compatibility on the transport vehicle
  • Ensure overall quality control of waste materials to be shipped
  • Apply customer specific disposal restrictions/special packaging requirements
  • Submit a list of containers awaiting shipment but have exceeded storage time weekly
  • Carry out assigned waste minimization and environmental sampling activities
  • Create routine reports to support environmental reporting requirements
  • Responsible for stock and maintain supplies to support HW requirements
  • Accomplish and maintain required training.

Hazardous Waste Technician Job Description for Resume

If you are making a resume as someone who has worked before as a hazardous waste technician or are presently working in that role, you can create a compelling professional experience section for the resume by applying the sample job description above.

You can highlight the hazardous waste technician duties and responsibilities presented in the above job description in describing your functions in the professional experience section of your resume.
This will help to convince the recruiter that you will be effective working as a hazardous waste technician or in a related role.

Hazardous Waste Technician Requirements – Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

If you are seeking the job of a hazardous waste technician, you should be aware that most recruiters will want you to fulfill certain requirements to be hired.

Shown below are major requirements you may be expected to meet if you are applying for the hazardous waste technician job:

  • Education: To work as a hazardous waste technician, you are required to have minimum of High School Diploma or equivalent. However, a college degree in chemistry, biology, geology, or in other natural science discipline is preferred
  • Certification/Training: EESOH-MIS specific training is an advantage to the applicant
  • Knowledge: To work as a hazardous waste technician, it is useful that you have practical knowledge of HW management. Some employers demand for a minimum of four years experience in hazardous waste management. It is also vital that they have an adept understanding of hazardous material identification and management and Material Safety Data Sheets/Safety Data Sheets
  • The hazardous waste technician job requires providing report in support of environmental requirements, so it is essential that applicants are aware of data quality related to databases and report generation. Hazardous waste technicians must also be able to follow established procedures in executing job tasks independently
  • Computer skills: Their job duties may involve tracking of HW, utilizing the organization’s EESOH-MIS or other relational databases. So it is important that they are computer literate and familiar with Microsoft tools, especially Excel, Access, and EESOH-MIS or other relational databases
  • Physical dexterity: They must be fit and energetic, able to safely move and load extremely heavy drums and containers with provided material handling equipment. Some employers may even prefer to hire someone with a labor-intensive background
  • Multi-tasking abilities: A hazardous waste technician is responsible for several interrelated tasks, so it is desirable for them to have multi-tasking abilities to perform their job successfully
  • Interpersonal skills: They carry out their job tasks in the office, outdoors, and sometimes within customers’ facilities. It implies that their role may involve client-facing. So it is a plus if they can establish rapport and manage the relationship with the customer
  • Communication skills: Communication is an essential part of working with people. HW Technicians also require great written and verbal communication skills to generate reports and communicate with the various people, including drivers, customers, and colleagues that are associated with the execution of their job.

Hazardous Waste Technician Salary

According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual pay for a hazardous waste technician in the United States is $38,492 a year.

While some HW technicians earn as high as $67,000 and as low as $28,500 annually, the majority of them currently fall in the range of $31,000 to $40,500 yearly across the United States.

Conclusion

If you are a recruiter or employer needing to hire for the hazardous waste technician position in your organization, you will need to make and publish the description of the job for interested individuals to learn about what will be expected of them on the job.

You can apply the sample job description provided on this page as a template in making the perfect description of the hazardous waste technician role in your organization.

This post is also valuable to individuals who are interested in getting into the hazardous waste technician career.

They will be able to increase their knowledge of the duties and responsibilities hazardous waste technicians are commonly expected to perform.