Refuse Collector Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 22,000 jobs.
Median salary
£27,576
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 5.7% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£27,857
Part-time only
£17,495
Mean
£27,939
Jobs measured
22,000
What most refuse collectors actually earn
Half of refuse collectors earn between £25,389 and £30,865. Earning above £30,865 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of refuse collectors earn less than this.
Refuse Collector salary by region
10 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| Wales | £29,173 | £30,541 |
| Scotland | £29,095 | £29,430 |
| West Midlands | £28,624 | £30,795 |
| North West | £26,929 | £28,825 |
| North East | £26,624 | £26,797 |
| South West | £26,375 | £27,186 |
| South East | £26,366 | £26,548 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £26,021 | £25,461 |
| East | £25,121 | £25,617 |
| East Midlands | £24,457 | £25,367 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Refuse and salvage occupations
- SOC 2020 code
- 9225
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “refuse collector” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Refuse and salvage occupations”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group covers refuse and salvage occupations.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Refuse Collector salary FAQs
What is the average Refuse Collector salary in UK?
The median is £27,576 a year and the mean is £27,939, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £27,857 and part-time employees £17,495.
What is a good Refuse Collector salary?
Half of refuse collectors earn between £25,389 and £30,865. Anything above £30,865 is in the top quarter for the role.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records, covering 22,000 jobs in this occupation.
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