7.2.8Segment

Solid Waste Collection & Disposal

Solid waste collection companies and landfill operators managing municipal and commercial waste disposal.

4
Verticals

Overview

Solid Waste Collection & Disposal covers the collection, transfer, landfilling, and disposal of municipal and non-hazardous solid waste. At ~$89B it is the core of the waste industry — a consolidated oligopoly (Waste Management, Republic Services, GFL, Waste Connections) that owns the landfills and vertically-integrated collection networks, alongside thousands of smaller haulers.

Demand is recurring, non-discretionary, and recession-resistant, with landfills (scarce, permitted, high-barrier assets) the most valuable part of the value chain and pricing power a hallmark. It is highly consolidated yet still actively rolling up regional haulers, and one of the most reliable, cash-generative, and acquisitive industries in the economy.

Market snapshot

Market size
~$85B
Growth
~7.0%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~9,682 firms
Firms by employee count

84.4% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 8,167 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe1,515 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
1,17477%
100–499
22615%
500+
1158%

Steady growth on price rather than volume, which is the tell of a consolidated market — the national operators raise prices ahead of inflation because the alternative for a customer is a competitor who does not serve that street. Landfill airspace is the scarce asset.

NAICS 562111, 562119, 562212, 562213, 562219. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Recurring collection fees plus landfill disposal (tipping)

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$8,793,408
Revenue per employee
$288,597
Employees per firm
28.2
Recurring revenue
High

recurring, contracted collection

EBITDA margin
Strong

landfill-backed, pricing-power economics

Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven — payroll is only 21% of revenue; the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool — 115 firms exceed 500 employees; a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Consolidated oligopoly owning the landfills.
  • Recurring, non-discretionary, recession-resistant demand.
  • Landfills the scarce, high-barrier, valuable assets.

NAICS 562111, 562119, 562212, 562213, 562219. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandWest VirginiaIowaNew Hampshire

New Hampshire, Iowa and West Virginia — states where independent haulers survived the national consolidation. Waste concentration measures how many separate companies still hold routes, not how much waste is produced.

New HampshireIowaWest Virginia

U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 562111/562119/562212/562213/562219. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityHigh

Who’s acquiring

  • Solid-waste majors
  • PE-backed waste platforms
  • Regional-hauler consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Continuous roll-up of regional haulers.
  • Landfill scarcity and pricing power.
  • Recurring, cash-generative economics.

Verticals in this segment

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