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How much do recycling collectors earn in Sweden?

Recycling collectors. 8,400 people employed in Sweden.

33,600SEK

per month is the median salary for recycling collectors in Sweden in 2025. That is 12% lower than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+4% since 2024

≈ €2,950 / $3,450 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 26,982 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 194 SEK an hour · 403,200 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

The mean monthly salary for recycling collectors in Sweden is 33,800 SEK (2025). The median salary is 33,600 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 29,500 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 38,200 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
33,800 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
29,500 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
38,200 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
8,400
In this job in Sweden

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among recycling collectors in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

29,500 SEKLowest 10%33,600 SEKMedian38,200 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 31,800–35,700 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Recycling collectors starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 18–24, earn 32,200 SEK a month on average — roughly 25,900 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 18–24 32,200 SEK 25,926 SEK
Average, aged 25–34 33,900 SEK 27,209 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 29,500 SEK 23,890 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 31,800 SEK 25,625 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Recycling collectors pay in the private and public sector

What recycling collectors earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 33,800 SEK 33,600 SEK 33,700 SEK 32,700 SEK
Private sector 34,200 SEK 33,700 SEK 33,800 SEK 33,100 SEK
Public sector 32,000 SEK 31,900 SEK 32,000 SEK 31,200 SEK
Municipalities 32,000 SEK 31,900 SEK 32,000 SEK 31,200 SEK

Recycling collectors salary after tax in Sweden

What recycling collectors actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 33,600 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 26,982 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

33,600 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 26,982 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 27,423 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 26,938 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 26,974 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 27,680 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 26,320 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 18–24 years, earn 32,200 SEK before tax — roughly 25,926 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 38,200 SEK, which is roughly 30,452 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for recycling collectors

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for recycling collectors

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 30,000 38,000 Median pay Number
Men 33,700 SEK 7,200
Women 32,700 SEK 1,300

Women's average salary is 97% of men's average salary in this job.

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Recycling collectors salary by age

Pay for recycling collectors normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 30,000 38,000 Average pay Men Women Number
18–24 years 32,200 SEK 32,200 SEK 32,000 SEK 1,000
25–34 years 33,900 SEK 34,200 SEK 32,900 SEK 1,900
35–44 years 34,500 SEK 34,600 SEK 34,100 SEK 1,800
45–54 years 34,400 SEK 34,600 SEK 32,700 SEK 1,500
55–64 years 33,500 SEK 33,600 SEK 33,000 SEK 1,900

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 30,000 38,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Primary and secondary education less than 9 years (ISCED97 1) 33,300 SEK 33,500 SEK – 160
Primary and secondary education 9-10 years (ISCED97 2) 33,900 SEK 34,100 SEK – 1,200
Upper secondary education, 2 years or less (ISCED97 3C) 34,100 SEK 34,200 SEK 33,100 SEK 2,400
Upper secondary education 3 years (ISCED97 3A) 33,600 SEK 33,700 SEK 33,100 SEK 3,700
Post-secondary education, less than 3 years (ISCED97 4+5B) 34,100 SEK 34,600 SEK 32,200 SEK 700
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 34,800 SEK 35,100 SEK – 230

Recycling collectors salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 30,000 38,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 34,700 SEK 34,800 SEK 33,400 SEK 2,000
East-Central Sweden 33,100 SEK 33,200 SEK 32,800 SEK 1,200
Småland and islands 32,800 SEK 33,100 SEK – 530
South Sweden 33,600 SEK 33,600 SEK 33,200 SEK 1,600
West Sweden 34,300 SEK 34,500 SEK 33,700 SEK 1,700
North-Central Sweden 33,100 SEK 33,300 SEK – 700
Central Norrland 33,100 SEK 33,300 SEK – 250
Upper Norrland 34,000 SEK 34,400 SEK – 440

Recycling collectors pay growth 2014–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 25,100 SEK in 2014 to 33,600 SEK in 2025, +34% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 9610, “renhållnings- och återvinningsarbetare”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Bildemonterare
  • Bildemontör
  • Bilskrotare
  • Bränslehanterare, återvinningsstation
  • Bränslemottagare, återvinningsstation
  • Demonterare
  • Demontör
  • Deponiarbetare
  • Lastbilsdemonterare
  • Medåkare renhållningsbil
  • MIljöarbetare anläggning
  • Miljöarbetare, avfallshantering
  • Miljöarbetare, avfallshantering, station
  • Miljöassistent, avfallshantering
  • Miljöassistent, avfallshantering, station
  • Renhållningsarbetare, ospec
  • Renhållningsarbetare, sophämtare
  • Snöskottare
  • Sophämtare
  • Sopsorterare
  • Sopstationsarbetare
  • Tankrengörare
  • Återvinningsarbetare

Frequently asked questions

How much do recycling collectors earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 33,600 SEK a month before tax, against 32,300 SEK the year before (2024) — +4%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for recycling collectors in Sweden?

The median salary for recycling collectors in Sweden is 33,600 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so recycling collectors sit 12% lower than the typical job.

How much do recycling collectors earn after tax?

The median salary for recycling collectors is 33,600 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 27,000 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for recycling collectors?

The average (33,800 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (33,600 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what recycling collectors typically earn.

What is the starting salary for recycling collectors in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: recycling collectors aged 18–24 years earn 32,200 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 29,500 SEK. More in the section “Recycling collectors starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for recycling collectors?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 38,200 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Is there a gender pay gap among recycling collectors in Sweden?

Women's average salary is 97% of men's in this job. The median salary is 33,700 SEK for men and 32,700 SEK for women. The figure is not adjusted for differences in age, sector or working hours.

Where in Sweden do recycling collectors earn the most?

Pay is highest in Stockholm, where recycling collectors earn 34,700 SEK per month on average.

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