A junk removal environmental compliance officer makes sure every load ends up at a place that may legally take it, with the paperwork to prove it. The officer tracks refrigerant statements, tire logs, dump tickets and recycler receipts, and walks inspectors through the records when they visit.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, waste collection companies · BLS, May 2025
[Safety & Compliance Manager or Director of Operations]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Responsible for ensuring that all aspects of junk removal operations comply with environmental regulations, from tracking hazardous waste to managing waste manifests. Plays a key role in maintaining state and federal compliance, protecting the company from potential violations and supporting safe, efficient waste management practices.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Manage waste manifests and track hazardous items in accordance with state and federal disposal regulations.
Monitor, interpret, and ensure adherence to all environmental compliance requirements during junk removal operations.
File required reports accurately and in a timely manner with the appropriate regulatory authorities.
Act as the main point of contact for environmental regulatory bodies during inspections and audits.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and update waste manifests daily to ensure accuracy and compliance.
Conduct routine audits of hazardous waste storage and removal processes.
Coordinate with field teams to verify proper disposal methods and regulatory compliance.
Prepare compliance documentation and reports for internal review and external regulatory submissions.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Waste Manifest Accuracy: 100% compliance with state and federal standards.
Timeliness of Report Submission: 100% of reports filed on or before deadlines.
Compliance Audit Score: Achieve a minimum rating of 95% during internal and external audits.
Incident Rate: Maintain an incident rate of less than 2% related to environmental non-compliance.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Public Administration, or a related field.
Minimum of 3 years’ experience in environmental compliance or regulatory roles.
Strong understanding of state and federal environmental regulations regarding waste disposal.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple compliance-related tasks concurrently.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the junk removal, waste management, or home services industry.
Familiarity with hazardous waste management protocols and documentation.
Proven track record in handling compliance audits and regulatory inspections.
Hands-on experience working with environmental regulatory agencies.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in environments that may include exposure to hazardous materials with proper safety procedures.
Occasional lifting of materials up to 25 lbs.
Capability to work in outdoor and varying weather conditions during site visits.
Prolonged periods of standing, walking, or sitting as necessary for detailed documentation work.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional weekend or extended hours required during critical compliance projects or regulatory audits.
Moderate travel required to various operational sites for compliance inspections.
Opportunity for remote work with regular in-office collaboration.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $55,000 - $70,000 per year, based on experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonuses available.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance coverage.
401(k) plan with company contributions.
Additional fringe benefits such as paid time off, professional development opportunities, and employee wellness programs.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented company that values innovation, integrity, and excellence in service delivery.
Our team fosters a collaborative and forward-thinking culture where all employees are empowered to contribute to the company’s success.
We invest in continuous learning and development to help you level up your skills and achieve your career aspirations.
Join a company committed to sustainability and responsible environmental practices within the home services industry.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Many environmental compliance jobs center on one plant. In junk removal, the waste comes out of hundreds of homes and businesses each week, and each kind of item has its own legal path.
Refrigerators need a signed statement
Fridges, freezers and window air conditioners often reach the truck with refrigerant inside. Under EPA's rule, the scrap yard or landfill at the end of the chain must recover it, or keep a signed statement or contract from whoever dropped the unit off. A statement names who recovered the refrigerant, their address and the date. People recovering it from these units for disposal don't need technician certification, but their equipment must meet EPA's standards. Central air units get emptied under EPA's servicing rules. Ban cutting the lines. Source: U.S. EPA: Stationary refrigeration safe disposal requirements.
Household and business waste follow different rules
Paint, cleaners and bug spray from a home are household hazardous waste. Federal hazardous waste rules leave them out, even after a hauler picks them up, and EPA says states and local governments set the rules instead. So what a crew may take changes from county to county. Waste cleared out of an office, shop or restaurant doesn't get that pass. The officer writes the list of what crews take, refuse or leave for a local drop-off. Source: U.S. EPA: Household hazardous waste.
The landfill can turn a load away
Landfills that take household trash must run a program to keep regulated hazardous waste and PCBs out. That means random checks of incoming loads, or other steps that do the same job, plus records and staff trained to spot problems. The landfill has to tell the state or EPA when it finds that waste. A rejected load costs a trip, so the officer keeps each site's list of what it takes and makes sure dispatch and crew leaders have it. Source: eCFR: Procedures for excluding hazardous waste at landfills (40 CFR 258.20).
Bulbs, batteries and old screens
When batteries, fluorescent tubes, mercury thermostats, aerosol cans or some bug killers count as hazardous waste, EPA lets them be handled as universal waste. That's a lighter set of rules meant to steer them to recycling, and states can add items. California, for one, treats old tube TVs and monitors that no longer work, and mercury bulbs from TVs, laptops, tablets and monitors, as hazardous waste. The officer picks the recyclers and keeps their receipts. Source: U.S. EPA: Universal waste.
Tires can need a hauler registration
In California, anyone hauling ten or more used or waste tires must hold a waste tire hauler registration, renewed each year and backed by a surety bond. Haulers carry a Comprehensive Trip Log on every run and may take tires only to authorized facilities. Check the tire rules in each state your trucks serve before a crew loads a stack from a garage or shop. Source: CalRecycle: Used and waste tire haulers.
How much junk removal environmental compliance officers make
Compliance officers who work for waste collection companies earned a median of $73,320 a year ($35.25 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $80,730 median for compliance officers in all industries. About 100 of the 417,070 compliance officers in that survey work for waste collection companies.
Salaried, with a bonus that can ride on clean audits and reports filed on time. The BLS code covers compliance officers in many fields, not just waste, so check the figures against your local market and the template's range.
Waste collection companies
$73,320$73,320 median Middle half $55,370–$86,350 10th–90th $48,100–$100,350
All industries
$80,730$80,730 median Middle half $61,280–$109,010 10th–90th $48,220–$133,720
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Waste collection companies
$48,100
$55,370
$73,320
$86,350
$100,350
All industries
$48,220
$61,280
$80,730
$109,010
$133,720
BLS doesn’t publish pay for junk removal companies on their own. These figures cover waste collection, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Reads federal and state waste rules and turns them into a clear take, refuse or reroute list
Keeps tidy files of dump tickets, recycler receipts, refrigerant statements and tire logs
Talks with inspectors, landfill staff and crew leaders in plain terms
Traces each rejected load back to the habit that caused it and changes that habit
Tracks permit and report deadlines across several branches
Teach these on the job
Your disposal sites, their hours and acceptance lists
Your donation and recycling partners and what each one takes
How your crews sort a load for each stop
Your job app's photo and item fields
State tire, mattress and e-waste programs where you haul
The officer works from the load records in your job software, a compliance tracker or shared drive for statements, receipts and permits, and the photos crews take on each job. List the states and counties you haul in and how many branches the officer covers, since each one adds rules.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Unknown materials
A crew brings back two drums of unknown liquid from a garage clean-out. What do you do?
A strong answer: Isolates them in containment, doesn't open or mix them, labels them as unknown, calls a licensed hazardous waste hauler for testing and disposal, and finds out how they got on the truck.
Behavioral · Closing compliance gaps
Tell me about a compliance gap you found and closed. How did you get operations to change?
A strong answer: Names the rule, the gap, the fix, how they got buy-in from the field and how they checked it stuck.
Use a few months of load records and audit results to set these targets, and revisit them with the officer every quarter.
Waste Manifest Accuracy
Each month, pull a sample of jobs and match the job record to its dump ticket and its recycler or donation receipt. Count records with a missing or wrong piece.
Timeliness of Report Submission
Keep one calendar of every state, county and city report and permit renewal. Score each filing by the date it went in against the date it was due.
Compliance Audit Score
Score branch and disposal-site audits on one written checklist, so a branch's result means the same thing each quarter. Add any findings from outside inspectors.
Incident Rate
Count rejected loads, items sent to the wrong site and spills against total jobs. Log each one with its cause so repeat problems stand out.
Career path
Transfer station or recycling jobLearns what each site accepts and why loads get turned away.
When is a junk removal company big enough for an environmental compliance officer?
A smaller company can hand this work to an operations manager. With several branches and dozens of trucks, the fridges, tires, electronics and business cleanouts add up to a full-time job. Signs it's time: loads turned away, missing refrigerant statements, a late state report, or branches that each made up their own list of what to take.
How much does a junk removal environmental compliance officer make?
Compliance officers who work for waste collection companies earned a median of $73,320 a year ($35.25 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $55,370 and $86,350 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should junk crews ever haul material that might be asbestos?
Make it company policy that they don't. EPA says you usually can't tell asbestos by looking, and that if in doubt you should treat the material as asbestos and leave it alone. Damaged material that has to come out needs a trained and accredited asbestos pro, and some states and cities require one even in single-family homes. The officer writes the list of suspect materials, such as old pipe, furnace and boiler insulation, and the stop rule crews follow.
Where do good environmental compliance candidates come from?
Look at city and county solid waste staff who ran household hazardous waste events or inspected haulers, compliance staff at transfer stations or scrap yards, and consultants who wrote waste plans for small businesses. In the interview, show photos from a garage or office cleanout and ask which items they'd take, refuse or send elsewhere, and why.
What records should the officer keep?
Keep a trail for every load: the job record, crew photos, the dump ticket and any recycler or donation receipt. Add signed refrigerant statements, tire trip logs where your state uses them, permits and a copy of each report filed. Store them by branch and date, so an inspector's question about one pickup takes minutes, not days.
How does this job differ from the safety and compliance manager?
The safety and compliance manager protects your people: injury logs, training, protective gear and driver files. The environmental compliance officer follows what you haul and where it ends up. At a company this size the two often share a department, and the officer may report to the safety manager.
