Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Waste Management Officer

🎯 Role Definition

The Waste Management Officer leads and coordinates comprehensive waste management activities across public and private sites to ensure safe, efficient and compliant handling of municipal solid waste, recyclable materials, and hazardous waste streams. This role develops and implements waste reduction and diversion programs, manages contracts and vendors, maintains regulatory permits, conducts inspections and audits, and provides technical guidance to operations teams, stakeholders and the community. The ideal candidate balances hands-on operational knowledge with regulatory expertise (e.g., RCRA, local solid waste regulations), data-driven decision making, strong stakeholder engagement, and proven project and budget management skills.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Environmental Technician or Field Operations Technician with 1–3 years in waste/recycling operations.
Recycling Coordinator or Solid Waste Coordinator focused on program delivery.
Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Specialist with experience in hazardous materials.

Advancement To:

Waste Management Supervisor / Senior Waste Management Officer
Waste Management Manager or Environmental Compliance Manager
Director of Public Works, Director of Environmental Services, or Sustainability Director

Lateral Moves:

Sustainability Coordinator or Circular Economy Specialist
Health & Safety Manager (HSE)
Environmental Permitting Specialist or Regulatory Affairs Officer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement and continuously refine the municipality’s or company’s integrated waste management strategy and annual workplans to increase diversion rates, reduce landfill dependency, and meet regulatory and sustainability targets.
Oversee day-to-day operations of waste collection, transfer stations, recycling centers and drop-off facilities, coordinating routes, schedules and staffing to optimize efficiency and service levels while controlling costs.
Ensure full regulatory compliance with federal, state and local waste laws, including RCRA, DOT hazardous materials transportation rules, state landfill permits and air/water discharge requirements; prepare and submit required regulatory reports and manifests on time.
Manage hazardous waste programs: classify waste streams, ensure proper labeling, packaging, on-site storage, manifesting, transportation and disposal practices, and implement hazardous materials handling protocols to minimize environmental and safety risks.
Lead permitting and license management activities for landfills, transfer stations, composting facilities and recycling operations; prepare permit applications, renewals, compliance plans, corrective action plans and responses to regulatory inspections.
Conduct routine and surprise site inspections, audits and compliance reviews of facilities, vehicles and contractor operations; identify non-conformances and drive corrective actions, follow-up and enforcement as needed.
Plan and administer capital and operating budgets for waste management programs; track expenditures, forecast needs for equipment and capital projects (e.g., compactors, collection trucks, MRF upgrades), and recommend cost-saving initiatives.
Negotiate, procure and manage contracts with haulers, recyclers, landfill operators, and service vendors; develop scopes of work, performance metrics, SLAs, and oversee vendor performance, invoicing and dispute resolution.
Develop and manage key performance indicators (KPIs) and data systems for collection tonnage, diversion rates, contamination rates, route efficiency and customer service metrics; use GIS and route optimization tools to improve operational performance.
Lead waste characterization studies, audits and material flow analyses to identify opportunities for recycling, composting, reuse programs, and to inform policy and program design with evidence-based recommendations.
Implement and manage household hazardous waste (HHW) programs, collection events and take-back initiatives; coordinate logistics, public outreach, contractor support and safe disposal arrangements.
Provide technical guidance and training to frontline crews, contractors and internal stakeholders on safe handling, PPE, spill response, emergency procedures and best practices for waste segregation and contamination prevention.
Manage incident response and emergency preparedness for spills, community complaints, fires or hazardous material releases at waste facilities; coordinate with emergency services, regulatory agencies and contractors for containment, remediation and communication.
Design and deliver community engagement, education campaigns and outreach programs promoting recycling, composting, proper hazardous waste disposal, and behavior change to reduce contamination and increase participation.
Administer grants, subsidy programs and funding opportunities for waste reduction, recycling infrastructure, or pilot projects; prepare grant applications, technical proposals and monitor grant compliance and reporting.
Oversee monitoring and environmental controls at disposal and treatment facilities, including leachate management, groundwater and gas monitoring programs, and coordination of environmental consultants for sampling and mitigation activities.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives including process standardization, digitalization (asset management, work order systems), and cost recovery mechanisms such as user fees, PAYT (pay-as-you-throw) and producer responsibility programs.
Support and advise policy development and ordinance drafting on solid waste, recycling, producer responsibility, and illegal dumping enforcement; prepare briefing materials and present recommendations to senior leadership and elected officials.
Lead cross-functional projects such as implementing new recycling streams or organics collection pilots, coordinating procurement of new fleet/equipment, and transitioning to alternative fuel vehicles to lower carbon footprint.
Maintain accurate records of manifests, permits, inspection reports, incident logs and regulatory correspondence to ensure traceability and audit readiness.
Coordinate with public health, planning and community development teams to ensure waste-related projects align with broader municipal objectives, zoning, and environmental justice considerations.
Enforce contract and regulatory compliance, issue notices of violation and escalate enforcement actions when contractors or generators fail to comply with waste management standards.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Provide technical input to procurement specifications for vehicles, compactors, balers and MRF equipment, and participate in vendor evaluations and acceptance testing.
Assist in drafting communication materials and responses to FOIA or public records requests relating to waste operations and contracts.
Participate in regional coordination efforts, working groups and multi-jurisdictional agencies on waste diversion, shared facilities and regulatory advocacy.
Mentor junior staff and provide performance feedback, coaching and professional development opportunities to build a resilient operations team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Solid understanding of waste management regulations and compliance frameworks (e.g., RCRA, state landfill rules, CERCLA basics, DOT hazmat rules).
Hazardous waste classification, manifesting and hazardous materials handling experience.
Permit writing, permit compliance and regulatory reporting experience for solid waste facilities and transfer stations.
Contract management, procurement, vendor negotiation and performance monitoring skills.
Budget development, cost estimating, capital planning and financial reporting for operations and capital projects.
Experience with route optimization, fleet management, and collection scheduling software (route planning/GIS).
Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Excel advanced: pivot tables, VLOOKUPs), and experience with asset/work order systems (CMMS) or ERP platforms.
Data analysis and KPI development for waste metrics: tonnage tracking, diversion rates, contamination analysis, and performance dashboards.
Experience managing recycling facilities, material recovery facilities (MRFs), composting operations, or transfer station activities.
Knowledge of environmental monitoring practices (leachate, groundwater, gas monitoring) and compliance sampling programs.
Emergency response planning, spill response, and incident investigation capabilities.
Grant writing, funding administration and public sector budgeting experience.
Familiarity with sustainability frameworks, circular economy principles and waste reduction program design.

Soft Skills

Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present technical information to non-technical stakeholders, community groups and elected officials.
Leadership and people management skills, including supervising field crews, contractors and cross-functional teams.
Problem-solving and analytical mindset with attention to detail and ability to prioritize competing operational demands.
Stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills for interacting with residents, regulators, vendors and internal teams.
Project management skills: planning, scheduling, resource allocation, risk management and delivering projects on time and on budget.
Conflict resolution and negotiation skills when managing contractors, complaints or enforcement situations.
Adaptability and resilience to manage field emergencies, changing regulations and evolving program priorities.
Customer service orientation focused on improving resident experience and responsiveness to service issues.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Public Administration, Waste Management, or a closely related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Environmental Management, Public Administration, Environmental Engineering, or certification from recognized bodies (e.g., CIWM, IFWM, SWANA certifications).
Professional certifications such as Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), SWANA Solid Waste Management Certification, OSHA 30-hour, or state-specific permitting qualifications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Environmental Science
Environmental or Civil Engineering
Public Administration / Public Works Management
Waste Management / Resource Recovery
Sustainability / Environmental Policy

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressively responsible experience in waste management, recycling operations, environmental compliance or related municipal operations.

Preferred: 5+ years managing or supervising waste collection, transfer stations, recycling programs, hazardous waste operations or regulatory compliance in public sector or large private waste management organizations; demonstrated experience in permit management, contract administration and multi-stakeholder program implementation.