Recycling Operatives & Flexi Recycling Operatives

Job Title: Recycling Operative/Flexi Operative
Starting Salary: £27,231 progressing to £27,661 - pay award pending
Hours: 40
Location: Hertfordshire
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Growth & Environment

About the team

Current openings:

Recycling Operative - St Albans & Welwyn Garden City
Flexi Operative - Stevenage, Waterdale & Berkhamsted

Hertfordshire County Council is made up of over 8500 talented, passionate, and caring individuals across Adult Care Service, Child Care Service, Community Protection, Environment & Transport, Public Health, Central Resources, and Sustainable Growth.

At HCC we are committed to working towards: -

• A cleaner Greener Environment for all
• Providing Healthy and Fulfilling lives for ALL of our residents
• Sustainable, responsible growth in our county
• Excellent council services for all

Whichever part of HCC and whichever role you join us in you will be certain that the role that you do will play a significant part in achieving our goals.

Our Recycling Centre service team are looking for self-motivated individuals to work alongside us to achieve our vision to increase recycling rates and divert waste from landfill in Hertfordshire.

About the role

All training is provided including but not limited to First Aid, Fire Marshall, Manual Handling and Plant. You could progress within the team if that is something that you strive to do.

The duties include:

• Show and help service users put their waste in the correct areas as appropriate.
• Check permits for vans and trailers and check for certain types of waste.
• Ensure that the waste streams do not get mixed up.
• Maintain a clean and tidy work environment.
• Look for ways to improve customer service and recycling rates.
• Compaction of waste through use of JCB’s and compactors (training provided)

We are also looking to recruit flexible and motivated Flexi Operatives to support the delivery of Hertfordshire County Council’s essential waste and recycling services.

You will be based at a designated recycling site but will also be required to provide cover at other Council sites across Hertfordshire to meet service needs. Duties will include the safe sorting and handling of recyclable materials, maintaining site cleanliness, and assisting with the operation of equipment where trained, in line with health, safety, and environmental legislation and Council procedures.

The role requires flexibility in working hours and locations. You must hold a full UK driving licence, have access to a vehicle to travel between sites, and approved mileage expenses will be paid in accordance with Council policy. This role makes an important contribution to the Council’s commitment to sustainability and high‑quality public service delivery for residents.

About you

Are you an enthusiastic team player, who wants to join an established team to ensure site operations exceed the standards required.

Do you have a proven track record of delivering excellent customer service with the ability to remain calm under pressure you will be tasked in advising residents on how to dispose of their waste, whilst working safely. This role involves working in all types of weather conditions and experience of working under prolonged periods of sustained physical effort would be advantage.

As well as the above you must hold a full UK driving licence, have access to a vehicle to travel between sites to be considered for our Flexi Operatives vacancies.

If there are no vacancies in your preferred team/location, please continue to make an application and we will add you to a waiting list. You will be contacted when vacancies become available to see if you are still interested in working in Waste for Hertfordshire County Council.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is within the operational services, level 4 job profile. Please locate this via:

Job profiles - Operational services

Interview Date: Interviews are held on an ongoing basis

Benefits of working for us