Waste Management Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 20,200 waste management companies in the US provide hazardous and nonhazardous waste collection, hauling, and treatment; operation of transfer stations and landfills; septic system pumping; and remediation including specialized cleanup of contaminated buildings, mine sites, soil, or ground water. About 66% of industry sales receipts come from services to businesses, organizations, and farms; 19% to residences; and 15% to government.
Worker Injury
Workers are exposed to a wide variety of risks including contact with contaminated and hazardous materials in trash and remediation sites, working with heavy machinery, and handling curbside trash bins near traffic.
Vertical Integration
Waste management companies are using vertical integration to control their waste streams, broaden services, cut costs, and improve profitability.
Industry size & Structure
The average waste management company operates out of a single location, employs 25 workers, and generates about $6-7 million annually.
- The waste management industry consists of about 20,200 firms that employ about 500,200 workers and generate about $137 billion annually.
- Average revenue per employee is about $246,000.
- The industry is concentrated at the top with the four largest firms controlling 29% of revenue. Otherwise, the industry is fragmented with many companies offering one or a few types of waste services.
- Major US companies include Waste Management, Republic Services, Clean Harbors, and Casella Waste Systems.
Industry Forecast
Waste Management Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 21, 2025 - Large Waste Firms Notched More Acquisitions in 2024
- Large, publicly traded waste haulers and recycling firms spent $10.9 billion on acquisitions in 2024 as the waste management industry continued to consolidate. With its $7.2 billion purchase of medical waste firm Stericycle, Waste Management (WM) accounted for the largest deal of 2024. Waste Connections made 24 acquisitions in 2024 with a value of over $2.1 billion, consisting of tuck-in deals and expansions into new markets. Casella Waste Systems spent $469.2 million on 2024 acquisitions, mainly building on its Mid-Atlantic market and expanding into New York’s Hudson Valley region. At just over $450.8 million, GFL Environmental spent less on deals than in recent years, focusing on smaller tuck-ins, reducing debt, and completing planned divestitures. Republic Services also had a quiet year with $358 million in 2024 deals. All five firms plan to continue their acquisitive strategies in 2025.
- Advancements in technology reveal that methane emissions from landfills may be more than what current models used by the EPA and other regulators suggest, according to Waste Dive. GHGSat, a Canada-based firm that operates a fleet of methane-detecting satellites, recently released an analysis of 13 US landfills, and it found that nine of them had underreported their methane emissions. In a 2023 study, GHGSat found that landfills were the second-largest source of methane emissions after the oil and gas sector. Some waste firms have partnered with GHGSat to understand their methane emissions better and get ahead of an anticipated tightening of regulations on the federal and state levels.
- In March, prices for curbside recyclable materials were mixed, according to RecyclingMarkets.net. The national average natural high-density polyethylene (HDPE) price increased 10% over February and grew 235.5% over March 2024. Prices for post-consumer PET bottles and jars rose 4.7% in March from a month earlier, and PET prices were up 33.8% over March 2024. Prices for color HDPE jumped 85.2% in March from the previous month but were down 45.4% compared to March 2024. Polypropylene prices rose 42.2% over February and were up 285% year-over-year. Prices for old corrugated containers (OCC) used to manufacture new containers were flat in March compared to February and were down 27.1% from a year earlier. Aluminum can prices increased 5.7% in March from the previous month and were up 39.8% compared to a year earlier. Sorted residential paper prices were unchanged in March compared to February but were down 22.1% year over year.
- Some waste and recycling trade groups have expressed concern that the Trump administration’s tariff strategy could affect recyclable commodities markets and increase operating costs, including crucial equipment and parts, according to Waste Dive. On January 21, 2025, President Trump declared that a 25% tariff would be imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico beginning on February 1, 2025. On February 3, Trump paused the tariffs for 30 days after Canada and Mexico agreed to increase their border security and drug interdiction efforts. The 25% tariffs went into effect on March 4 but were paused for a month two days later for products that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). A 10% tariff on goods from China went into effect in early February. The National Waste & Recycling Association and the Recycled Materials Association voiced concerns about the threat of tariffs, including higher costs, lower job creation, supply chain disruption, and reduced infrastructure investment. Waste and recycling trade groups also worry that tariffs could impact manufacturing industries that use recycled materials as key inputs.
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