What Clean Harbors does

Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH), founded in 1980 by Alan S. McKim and headquartered in Norwell, Massachusetts, is North America's largest provider of environmental, energy, and industrial services, operating from over 400 service locations and 50+ owned waste management facilities with nearly 25,000 employees. The company's core offering is integrated hazardous and non-hazardous waste management — collection, packaging, transportation, recycling, treatment, and disposal — anchored by six RCRA-permitted high-temperature incinerators with 600,000+ tons/year combined capacity and five closed-loop permitted landfills. Technical capabilities include the proprietary SCID™ PFAS water treatment process, a 7-step thermal destruction system achieving 99.9999% PFAS destruction removal efficiency validated by the EPA and U.S. DOD, and the CleanPack® laboratory chemical packing service covering 150,000+ chemicals.

The business operates across five reportable verticals: Technical Services (waste disposal, recycling, chemical packing, CleanPack®), Industrial & Field Services (emergency response handling 4,500+ incidents annually, hydro-excavation, tank cleaning, InSite Services®), Oil, Gas & Lodging Services (Canadian oilsands production services and lodging), and the Safety-Kleen sub-brand providing used oil re-refining and the Kleen Performance Products lubricant line. Revenue is generated primarily through multi-year enterprise contracts with Fortune 500 industrial, chemical, refining, and pharmaceutical customers, plus government contracts (including a $110M three-year PFAS filtration award at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam) and on-demand emergency response. The company is transitioning leadership from founder Alan McKim to Co-CEOs Mike Battles and Eric Gerstenberg while pursuing inorganic growth — completing the $225M Terra Nova Solutions acquisition in May 2026 and the $130M DCI Industrial & Rail Services acquisition in February 2026, alongside a $745M senior notes refinancing completed in September 2025.

Name

Clean Harbors

Legal name

Clean Harbors, Inc.

Website

http://www.cleanharbors.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Clean Harbors is North America's largest hazardous waste management and environmental services provider, operating 400+ service locations and six RCRA-permitted incinerators serving industrial, chemical, refining, government, and oil & gas customers with end-to-end waste collection, treatment, and PFAS destruction solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental & Industrial Services

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622), Remediation Services (562910), Waste Treatment and Disposal (56221)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Hazardous Waste Management (4955), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Hazardous Waste Disposal (Secure Landfills, Deep-Well Injection) (EUAIAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Waste Disposal (Asbestos, Treated Wood, PFAS-impacted Residuals, Other Regulated Wastes) (EUAIACAK), Industrial Cleaning & Decontamination (Hydroblasting/Vacuum/Confined Space) (IMAIACAJ), Chemical Tank Cleaning, Decontamination & Turnaround Waste Services (BPALAHAH)

Keywords

• Hazardous waste management
• Environmental services
• Industrial cleaning
• PFAS destruction
• Used oil recycling

Headquarters

HQ city

Norwell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Environmental Services: The largest segment, Environmental Services provides hazardous and non-hazardous waste management including collection, packaging, transportation, recycling, treatment, and disposal through incineration, wastewater treatment, landfills, and specialized disposal. This segment achieved its 16th consecutive quarter of year-over-year adjusted EBITDA margin expansion in Q1 2026 and is the primary driver of record $6 billion annual revenue.
2. Industrial & Field Services: Provides turnkey industrial and field services including emergency response (4,500+ emergencies per year), field services, industrial specialty services, hydro-excavation/daylighting, production services, and on-site InSite Services. Revenue is generated through project-based service contracts and on-demand emergency response services.
3. Safety-Kleen Environmental (Oil Recycling & Re-refining): Safety-Kleen delivers closed-loop used oil recycling and solvent re-refining solutions. Over 65 years of experience providing responsible recycling, reclaiming and reusing used oil and cleaning solvents. Includes the Kleen Performance Products line of high-performance oil formulations.
4. PFAS Management Services: Comprehensive PFAS solution covering sampling, analysis, water filtration ($110M Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam contract over 3 years), soil remediation, AFFF management, and disposal. Expected to generate $100-120M in PFAS-related revenue in 2025 with 20% growth expected in 2026.
5. Oil, Gas & Lodging Services: Lodging services, surface rentals, seismic services, and production services for the oil and gas industry, particularly in Canada's oilsands regions. Includes industrial lodging facilities in Fort McMurray and other energy-producing areas.
6. Chemical Distribution and Product Sales: Chemical distribution and sale of specialty chemical products alongside waste management services. Also includes Kleen Performance Products high-performance oil formulations sold through direct channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Clean Harbors provides comprehensive environmental, energy, and industrial services across North America, including hazardous and non-hazardous waste collection, packaging, transportation, recycling, treatment, and disposal through RCRA-permitted incinerators and closed-loop landfills. The company also delivers industrial cleaning, emergency spill response, hydro-excavation, oil and gas field services, lodging, and the proprietary Total PFAS Solution covering sampling, water filtration, soil remediation, AFFF management, and thermal destruction. The Safety-Kleen subsidiary offers closed-loop used oil recycling, solvent re-refining, and Kleen Performance Products lubricants.

Product overview

Clean Harbors is a premier environmental, energy and industrial services provider offering a platform of integrated services for hazardous and non-hazardous waste management across North America. The core portfolio includes Technical Services (waste disposal, recycling, chemical packing), Industrial & Field Services (emergency response, field services, hydro excavation), and Oil Gas & Lodging Services. Key sub-brands include Safety-Kleen Environmental (used oil recycling and solvent reclamation) and Kleen Performance Products (lubricant formulations). The company operates InSite Services® as an on-site service delivery module, and has launched Total PFAS Solution as a comprehensive offering for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances management. Disposal capabilities include RCRA-permitted high-temperature incinerators and closed-loop permitted landfills. The company leverages over 400 service locations and 50+ waste management facilities to provide end-to-end waste solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• InSite Services: On-site/plant service delivery program providing full range of environmental, industrial and waste management offerings, built on safety, quality, efficiency and integrity for over 20 years
• CleanPack
• Total PFAS Solution

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.9999% PFAS destruction removal efficiency (DRE) confirmed through EPA/DOD study
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Ocean CleanupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026The Ocean Cleanup funds the Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project (KHCP) in Jamaica, implemented in partnership with Clean Harbours Jamaica (a local entity). The project has prevented nearly 13 million pounds of plastic and waste from entering Kingston Harbour over five years.
• GraceKennedy FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026The GraceKennedy Foundation leads the Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project (KHCP) in partnership with Clean Harbours Jamaica. The foundation announced Clean Harbours Jamaica's progress at its 36th Annual Lecture in Kingston, Jamaica on June 5, 2026, with Clean Harbours Jamaica Managing Director Michael McCarthy presenting alongside foundation CEO Caroline Mahfood.
• Crescentia CapitalminorOthers · 14 May 2026Crescentia Capital sold its portfolio company Terra Nova Solutions to Clean Harbors for $225 million. Terra Nova is a regional hazardous and non-hazardous waste solutions provider based in the Carolinas with five permitted facilities across North and South Carolina. The acquisition strengthens Clean Harbors' industrial waste platform in the Southeast region.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Clean Harbors collaborated with the EPA and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct a comprehensive PFAS incineration study at its Aragonite, Utah facility. Results published in September 2025 confirmed >99.9999% PFAS destruction efficiency. Clean Harbors shared its PFAS disposal framework with the EPA and submitted it as part of Co-CEO testimony to the Senate EPW Committee.
• V2X (formerly STG Group)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 December 2025V2X serves as a logistics provider in collaboration with Clean Harbors and the U.S. War Department for the $110 million PFAS water filtration project at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. V2X supports logistics and deployment of Clean Harbors' regenerative carbon filtration and resin units, enabling water treatment of approximately 4.2 million gallons daily.
• U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2025The DOD collaborated with Clean Harbors and the EPA on the PFAS incineration study that confirmed the company's high-temperature incineration achieves >99.9999% PFAS destruction. The DOD published updated 2026 interim guidance on PFAS destruction and disposal in 2026, which includes incineration as an acceptable method, removing a three-year moratorium.
• CastrolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 April 2024Castrol launched 'MoreCircular' with Safety-Kleen, a nationwide program for business customers to advance a more circular US lubricants industry, announced in April 2024.
• Independent Engineering Firm (for PFAS Testing)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2024An independent engineering firm was engaged to test and analyze Clean Harbors' PFAS destruction capabilities at its RCRA-permitted incinerators. The testing confirmed >99.9999% destruction of PFAS compounds including PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, Gen-X PFAS, and AFFF concentrate, with results reviewed by third-party experts.

Scale indicators26 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Waste Management (WM): Largest North American waste services company with landfill, collection, recycling, and a hazardous waste disposal platform (WM Hazardous Waste Services). A broader incumbent that overlaps with Clean Harbors in hazardous waste disposal, landfill operations, and large enterprise/industrial contracts.
• GFL Environmental Services: Canadian-headquartered environmental services company providing solid waste, liquid waste (including hazardous and industrial), soil remediation, and infrastructure services across North America. Increasingly overlaps with Clean Harbors in hazardous liquid waste, soil remediation, and industrial services.
• Veolia North America (Environmental Solutions): Global environmental services operator with a large North American hazardous waste, industrial cleaning, and remediation footprint. Competes with Clean Harbors across hazardous waste, PFAS treatment, and industrial field services, though as part of a broader water/waste portfolio rather than a pure-play specialist.

Direct peers

• Republic Services (parent of US Ecology): Republic Services acquired US Ecology in 2022, the closest historical direct competitor to Clean Harbors in hazardous waste collection, treatment, and disposal across North America. Operates a large network of permitted hazardous waste facilities and serves overlapping industrial, refinery, and government customers with comparable RCRA-permitted disposal services.
• Heritage-Crystal Clean: Provides used oil collection, re-refining, and parts cleaning services, mirroring Clean Harbors' Safety-Kleen subsidiary and Kleen Performance Products. Direct overlap in industrial oil recycling, solvent re-refining, and on-site parts cleaning for industrial customers.
• Stericycle: Specializes in regulated waste management including medical waste, hazardous waste, and document destruction across North America. Competes directly with Clean Harbors in regulated and hazardous waste streams, healthcare waste services, and waste pickup contracts with industrial customers.
• Heritage Environmental Services: Privately held hazardous waste management company offering RCRA-permitted treatment, storage, and disposal, plus on-site industrial services across the U.S. Overlaps with Clean Harbors' hazardous waste disposal, emergency response, and industrial field service offerings to similar manufacturing and chemical customers.
• EnergySolutions: Provides specialized waste disposal and decommissioning services, with a strong focus on radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste streams. Competes with Clean Harbors in regulated waste disposal, federal/DOD cleanups, and large-scale environmental remediation projects.

Emerging players

• Triumvirate Environmental: Privately held hazardous waste management and environmental services firm serving pharmaceutical, healthcare, higher education, and industrial customers. Smaller than Clean Harbors but competes on regulated waste pickup, lab packing, and PFAS-related consulting services.
• Perma-Fix Environmental Services: Provides nuclear, hazardous, and mixed waste treatment and disposal services, with PFAS destruction capabilities under development. Niche competitor to Clean Harbors in federally driven radioactive and hazardous waste streams, particularly for DOD and DOE contracts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CleanHarbors_HR
• Facebookfacebook.com/CleanHarborsEnvironmental
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clean-harbors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A17 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clean Harbors