Home CDL-A Jobs Job Form CDL News
CDL A Job Type
States
Top CDL-A Cities
Driver Hub

CDL A Job Type

×
OTR CDL-A Jobs USA Regional CDL-A Jobs USA Local CDL-A Jobs USA Owner Operator CDL-A Jobs USA

States

×
Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Florida Georgia Illinois Idaho Indiana Kentucky Louisiana Missouri Minnesota Michigan North Carolina New Jersey New York New Mexico Oregon Ohio Pennsylvania Texas Tennessee Wisconsin Washington

Top CDL-A Cities

×
Atlanta Albuquerque Baton Rouge Birmingham Boise Buffalo Chicago Cleveland Charlotte Cincinnati Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Elizabeth Eugene Fort Smith Fort Worth Fort Wayne Fresno Greensboro Houston Harrisburg Indianapolis Idaho Falls Jacksonville Joliet Kansas City Lakeland Laredo Lexington Little Rock Los Angeles Louisville Madison Miami Memphis Milwaukee Minneapolis Mobile Montgomery Nashville Newark New York New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Portland San Antonio San Bernardino San Diego Saint Paul Seattle Savannah Springfield Stockton St. Louis Tacoma Tampa Tucson

Driver Hub

×
CDL-A Trucking School & Job Placement CDL-A Pay Calculator
Local CDL-A Position Home Daily

CDL-A Waste & Recycling Transfer Driver

Hiring Area: Seattle Metro • Terminal: Seattle-Area Yard

Seattle, WA Local Transfer 2–6 Years

Move municipal solid waste, recyclables, green waste and construction debris on short-haul cycles across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties for $1,650–$2,100 weekly, returning home every shift after early-morning starts.

Weekly Gross
$1,650–$2,100
Estimated Annual: $85,800–$109,200
Sign-On Bonus Up to $1,500
Home Time Home Daily
Driver Type Company Driver
Shift Length 9–11 Hours
Freight Type Waste & Recycling

Transfer Operations Overview

Short-cycle movements consolidate material at transfer stations before loads continue to processors or disposal sites across the Puget Sound network.

  • Complete multiple transfer cycles each shift instead of single long runs.
  • Work scales, gates and facility procedures at transfer and processing sites.
  • Reposition empty trailers or containers between assignments as directed.
  • Report delays, rejected material or equipment issues immediately to dispatch.
  • Perform detailed pre-trip and post-trip inspections on vocational equipment.
  • Follow PPE, speed and backing rules required by each facility.

Hourly Pay Structure

Earnings come from an hourly rate plus overtime after 40 hours, with detention and load/trip pay applied on qualifying movements.

Hourly Rate $33.50–$38.00
Typical Weekly Gross Approximately $1,850
Overtime 1.5× after 40 hours
Detention Paid after waiting threshold
Safety Bonus Up to $1,000 annually
Referral Bonus $750

Early-Start Local Schedule

Home Time Home after every shift
Operating Area King, Snohomish & Pierce counties
Base Days Monday–Friday
Start Window 4:00–7:00 AM
Saturday Coverage Rotating as volume requires

Vocational Fleet Details

Tractor Age Mostly 2–6 years
Tractor Models Freightliner M2 & Cascadia, Kenworth T880/T680
Transmission Automatic
In-Cab Systems ELD, GPS tablet, forward-facing camera
Assignment Assigned when available; limited slip-seating

Day-cab tractors with heavy-duty vocational suspension pull transfer trailers, roll-off equipment or walking-floor units. Newer units may include collision mitigation, lane-departure warnings and adaptive cruise. Company fuel cards and vocational maintenance support are provided.

Transfer Lanes & Material Flow

Loads move between collection points, transfer stations, material recovery facilities and disposal sites rather than fixed long-haul lanes.

  • Municipal solid waste, commercial waste and recyclable material form the core freight mix.
  • Green waste, clean wood and construction-and-demolition debris follow separate processing paths.
  • Representative cycles run Seattle–Kent, Seattle–Tacoma, Seattle–Auburn and Seattle–Everett.
  • Additional movements reach Renton, Cedar Hills Regional Landfill and surrounding industrial corridors.
  • Primary corridors include I-5, I-405, SR-99, SR-509, SR-167, SR-520, SR-18 and SR-512.
  • North Transfer Station (1350 N 34th St) and South Transfer Station (130 S Kenyon St) handle significant volume.

Daily Cycle Pattern

  • Report between 4:00–7:00 AM, complete pre-trip and receive first assignment.
  • Run first transfer cycle before peak commuter congestion builds.
  • Return for scale-out, equipment exchange or next dispatch mid-morning.
  • Complete additional cycles through midday as facility queues and volume allow.
  • Finish with final movement or trailer reposition, then post-trip and log close-out.
  • Same-day resequencing is common when capacity, traffic or trailer status changes.

About the Carrier

Transfer-and-processing networks exist because dense urban collection systems cannot haul every load directly to distant landfills or recycling plants. Material must be consolidated at intermediate facilities before continuing to final destinations. A mid-sized regional environmental transportation operation supplies the short-haul capacity that keeps those stations, recovery facilities and disposal sites supplied. The work centers on repeated cycles of non-hazardous municipal, commercial, green and construction debris rather than long-distance freight, matching the structure of Puget Sound’s solid-waste system.

Benefits Package

Health Coverage Medical, dental, vision
Retirement 401(k) with company match
Paid Time Off Paid vacation and holidays
Additional Support Boot reimbursement, uniforms, high-visibility apparel
Other Employee assistance program, paid DOT physical renewal

Minimum Qualifications

  • Valid CDL Class A and current DOT medical card
  • 12 months recent tractor-trailer experience required
  • Acceptable MVR, verifiable employment history, DOT drug screen and Clearinghouse query
  • Ability to perform repeated cab entry/exit, inspections, climbing and yard walking in weather
  • Comfort with frequent low-speed backing around heavy equipment preferred

Common Delay Factors

  • I-5 and I-405 congestion can slow short movements even when mileage is low.
  • Transfer stations develop queues during peak commercial arrival windows.
  • Wet surfaces and dark early starts reduce traction and visibility in yards.
  • Seasonal construction activity increases C&D volume and facility pressure.

Hiring Steps

1
Application Review
CDL and experience check
2
Recruiter Call
Schedule, pay and area discussion
3
Screening
MVR, employment, drug and Clearinghouse
4
Road Evaluation & Offer
Possible test, then paid orientation

Practical Questions

Q: Do I unload material by hand? ▼
No. This is transfer work with trailers and facility systems, not residential hand collection.
Q: How often will I back in tight yards? ▼
Frequent low-speed backing around loaders, containers and restricted spaces is a normal part of every shift.
Q: Are routes permanently fixed? ▼
The operating counties stay the same, but daily sequence changes with volume, trailer status and facility capacity.
Q: Is a HazMat endorsement required? ▼
Not for the standard non-hazardous waste and recycling assignments described here.
Q: What happens if a facility rejects a load? ▼
Report the issue to dispatch immediately; drivers are not expected to force acceptance of improperly documented or prohibited material.
Q: How long does hiring usually take? ▼
Most qualified candidates move from application to orientation in roughly 3–7 business days depending on verification and screening timelines.

Seattle CDL-A Hiring Landscape

Seattle’s CDL-A market draws from a dense mix of port drayage, intermodal, construction, ready-mix, aggregate, LTL, foodservice and environmental-service fleets. Waste and recycling transfer roles form a distinct segment because they demand repeated yard backing, scale discipline and comfort around heavy equipment rather than pure highway miles. Regional carriers, municipal contractors and national waste operators all recruit from the same experienced local pool, keeping demand steady year-round. Vocational positions that stay inside the metro area compete on hourly rates and home-daily schedules instead of high-mileage packages. Drivers with proven tractor-trailer time and industrial-yard experience remain the preferred candidates across these specialized local operations.

Puget Sound Waste Logistics

Population density across the central Puget Sound generates continuous municipal and commercial waste streams that cannot travel directly to distant landfills. Transfer stations in Seattle and King County consolidate loads before material continues to processors or the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. Construction activity throughout the metro area produces steady construction-and-demolition debris, while seasonal landscaping increases green-waste volumes in spring and summer. The same industrial corridors that support port and manufacturing freight also host the transfer facilities and recovery plants that process these materials. Short-haul cycles between collection points, transfer stations and final destinations therefore form a permanent part of the regional freight system rather than a temporary market niche.

Start Your Application