Waste Management, Inc
Waste Management, Inc. is a U.S.-based holding company whose subsidiaries collect, transfer, recycle, and dispose of solid waste across the United States and Canada. The company also operates landfill gas-to-energy facilities, recycling processing and sales activities, organics processing, and regulated waste and secure information destruction services through its Healthcare Solutions business.
Fiscal year 2025 · change from previous year
Development 2020–2025
Business
Share of revenueLocal waste collection, transfer, landfill disposal, and related resource recovery services.
Processing recyclable materials and marketing recovered commodities and brokerage services.
Landfill gas-to-energy facilities that produce renewable electricity and renewable natural gas.
Regulated waste and compliance services plus secure information destruction for healthcare and other customers.
Organics processing, composting, remediation, construction, and industrial waste services.
Products
Reported · share of revenue- Commercial25.8 %
- Landfill15.0 %
- Residential13.9 %
- Other Collection13.7 %
- Industrial12.3 %
- Other19.3 %
Source: 10-K FY2025, revenue the company reports per product line (SEC XBRL). Shares are of the lines shown and add up to 100 %.
Customers
Waste Management serves households, businesses, municipalities, and institutions that need collection, disposal, recycling, and compliance services. Its customer base also includes healthcare providers and other regulated-waste generators that require specialized handling, as well as national accounts that want coordinated service across multiple locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Households buying curbside collection, transfer, and disposal services for municipal and suburban routes.
Businesses and industrial facilities buying recurring collection, recycling, and disposal services tailored to waste type and volume.
Hospitals, clinics, labs, and other regulated generators buying medical waste, compliance, and secure destruction services.
Multi-location customers buying standardized service, reporting, and centralized account management across North America.
Cities, counties, and public entities using landfill, transfer, and collection infrastructure where public service is outsourced.
Strategy
The company’s strategy centers on using its dense asset network to provide differentiated waste, recycling, and environmental services with broad local coverage. It is expanding recycling, organics, renewable energy, and healthcare-related services to capture more value from waste streams and reduce reliance on traditional disposal alone.
These businesses increase recovery from waste streams and support customer sustainability goals.
Landfill gas-to-energy converts landfill output into electricity and renewable natural gas.
Regulated waste and secure destruction broaden the service mix and add specialized compliance demand.
Automation and technology can lower cost-to-serve and improve service quality in a labor-intensive industry.
Geography
2025The company primarily operates in the United States and Canada, with local route density and landfill access shaping service economics. Healthcare Solutions also extends into Western Europe, while recycling commodities are marketed globally. Geography matters because disposal distance, local regulation, and landfill airspace vary by market and directly affect operating design.
Share of the revenue the company reports by geography.
Risks
The business depends on safe operation of landfills, transfer stations, recycling facilities, fueling stations, and medical-waste assets, so accidents, fires, contamination, and environmental incidents can create material liability. It also faces regulatory, commodity-price, labor, and permitting risk because waste economics are local, disposal capacity is finite, and recycling and renewable-energy returns can vary with market conditions.
- Landfill permitting and airspace uncertaintyImpact: HighLikelihood: High
Expansion approvals are highly regulated and delays can affect landfill capacity and asset recoverability.
Exposure: Landfill network
- Operational accidents and environmental incidentsImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Heavy equipment, landfills, fueling stations, and medical-waste handling can cause injuries, fires, leaks, or contamination.
Exposure - Commodity price and demand volatilityImpact: MediumLikelihood: High
Recycling results depend on prices for paper, plastics, metals, and other recovered materials.
Exposure: Recycling Processing and Sales
- Labor and inflation pressureImpact: MediumLikelihood: High
Collection and disposal are labor-intensive and exposed to wage, fuel, and equipment cost inflation.
Exposure: Route operations and facility operations
- Regulatory and sustainability disclosure scrutinyImpact: MediumLikelihood: High
Waste diversion, landfill restrictions, and sustainability claims are subject to evolving rules and enforcement.
Exposure: All segments
Accounting
Judgemental itemsPermitting outcomes and airspace estimates drive recoverability of capitalized landfill costs.
Impact: Can create impairment charges or change depreciation and amortization patterns
The company tests goodwill and certain intangibles annually and when indicators arise.
Impact: Can produce large non-cash charges if reporting unit values decline
Closed sites, proposed remediation plans, and operational incidents require reserve estimates.
Impact: Affects operating expenses and liabilities
Summer months typically see higher operating revenues and volumes than other quarters.
Impact: Quarterly comparability and margin trends can be distorted
Recycling results depend on market prices and demand for recovered materials.
Impact: Revenue and earnings can fluctuate with commodity markets
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Last updated: 24/09/2026