Stericycle
Stericycle, a wholly-owned Waste Management subsidiary acquired in 2024 for $7.2B, provides regulated medical waste collection, treatment, and disposal alongside HIPAA/OSHA compliance training for hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and government clients across North America and parts of Europe.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersLake Forest, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Stericycle does
Stericycle, Inc. is a US-headquartered regulated medical waste management and compliance services provider, founded in 1989 and acquired by Waste Management in November 2024 for $7.2B. The company now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary under the WM Healthcare Solutions division, with a national fleet of service locations, a specialized transportation fleet, treatment facilities (including a $110M Nevada incinerator opened in 2024), and roughly 15,000 employees operating in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, the UK, and Ireland (following the October 2024 divestiture of Spain and Portugal to Urbaser).
The core product is end-to-end regulated medical waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal — covering biohazardous waste, sharps, pharmaceutical and chemotherapy waste, controlled substances, and hazardous healthcare waste — supplemented by HIPAA and OSHA compliance training delivered by in-house specialists, and specialty services including Shred-it document destruction, MedDrop medication kiosks, and SafeDrop/Seal&Send mail-back programs for at-home users. Underlying technology is largely physical infrastructure (treatment assets, reusable container programs that diverted 101M lbs of plastic, and the My Stericycle customer portal) rather than software platforms; no APIs, AI capabilities, or developer tooling are disclosed.
The business model is sales-led with recurring subscription-style contracts, custom enterprise pricing based on facility size and waste volume, and multi-year commitments. Revenue is diversified across enterprise healthcare (hospitals and health systems), practices and care providers (physician, dental, surgery, dialysis, nursing), pharmacy and lab verticals, government and military, and consumer mail-back programs. Post-acquisition, Waste Management reported the medical waste segment generated approximately $2B in revenue at a 16% margin in 2025, with synergies expected from logistics integration and technology-enabled cost reduction.
Stericycle firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stericycle
- Legal name
- Stericycle, Inc.
- Website
- https://stericycle.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Stericycle, a wholly-owned Waste Management subsidiary acquired in 2024 for $7.2B, provides regulated medical waste collection, treatment, and disposal alongside HIPAA/OSHA compliance training for hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and government clients across North America and parts of Europe.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stericycle industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical Waste Management Services
- NAICS
- Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Investigation, Guard, and Armored Car Services (56161), Armored Car Services (561613), Waste Collection (5621)
- SIC
- Hazardous Waste Management (4955), Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950), Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Medical & Biohazard Waste Disposal (RMW/Sharps) (IMAIAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Confidential Document Destruction & Secure Recycling (Shredding) (IMAIAFAO), Medication Disposal, Returns & Safety (Sharps/Take-Back) (HSABALAN), Pharmaceutical & Controlled Substance Waste Management (DEA-compliant, Take-back) (EUAIAFAF)
Keywords
Where Stericycle is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lake Forest
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stericycle business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Regulated Medical Waste Services: Recurring collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal services for regulated medical waste from healthcare facilities. Revenue generated through service contracts with hospitals, clinics, and healthcare providers on a recurring basis.
- Compliance Training Services: HIPAA and OSHA compliance training and consulting services provided to healthcare organizations, generating subscription or per-training-session revenue.
- Secure Document Shredding: Document destruction services under the Shred-it brand, providing scheduled or on-demand secure shredding for healthcare facilities and businesses.
- Specialty Waste Solutions: Mail-back programs for at-home sharps disposal and medication collection kiosks for consumer drug take-back programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom enterprise pricing based on waste volume and service requirements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Stericycle product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stericycle provides regulated medical waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal services for healthcare facilities, alongside HIPAA and OSHA compliance training and secure document destruction (Shred-it). The company also offers specialty mail-back solutions (SafeDrop) and medication collection kiosks (MedDrop) for at-home and consumer drug take-back programs, serving hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, laboratories, and government facilities across North America and Europe.
Product overview
Stericycle operates as a medical waste disposal and compliance services company offering a comprehensive portfolio of regulated waste management solutions. The core offering is Regulated Medical Waste Disposal & Management, which encompasses sub-products including Biohazardous Medical Waste Disposal, Sharps Disposal Service, Pharmaceutical Waste Management, Chemotherapy Waste Disposal, Controlled Substance Waste Disposal, and Healthcare Hazardous Waste Services. Compliance Solutions provide HIPAA and OSHA training through in-house specialists. Specialty Waste Solutions include Shred-it Document Shredding, MedDrop Medication Collection Kiosks, SafeDrop Sharps Mail Back Solutions, and Seal&Send Medication Mail Back. The company also offers a Medical Supply Store for sharps containers and infection control products. Services span from enterprise healthcare organizations to individual physician offices, dental clinics, veterinary practices, pharmacies, laboratories, and government/military facilities across North America and Europe.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WM Healthcare Solutions: Healthcare waste management division established by Waste Management following the Stericycle acquisition
- Shred-it
- SharpsRX Pro
- MedDrop
- SafeDrop
Quantifiable outcome
- 97% on-time service rate
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Stericycle
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Stericycle technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Stericycle partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Stericycle competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cintas Corporation: Cintas is a large business services provider offering uniform rental, first aid, and document shredding services through its Cintas Document Destruction division. It competes with Shred-it for healthcare and commercial accounts with a route-based service model similar to Stericycle's field service approach.
- Veolia Environmental Services: Veolia is a global environmental services company with significant hazardous waste, regulated medical waste, and document destruction operations (including its Clean Earth brand acquired in 2021). It competes with Stericycle across multiple service lines for healthcare and industrial customers in North America and Europe.
- Heritage Environmental Services: Heritage Environmental Services (which acquired US Ecology in 2022) is a leading North American hazardous and industrial waste management company. It overlaps with Stericycle in hazardous waste collection, treatment, and disposal, particularly for pharmaceutical and industrial regulated waste streams.
- Waste Management: WM is Stericycle's parent company following the November 2024 acquisition. WM is the largest North American solid waste and environmental services provider, with adjacent regulated medical waste capabilities now integrated into its WM Healthcare Solutions division. Comparable as the parent acquirer and the largest scaled player in the broader waste management industry.
- Republic Services: Republic Services is the second-largest North American non-hazardous solid waste management company. While not a focused medical waste operator, it provides regulated waste, recycling, and specialty disposal services that overlap with Stericycle's portfolio and competes for healthcare and commercial accounts at scale.
Emerging players
- Tradebe Environmental Services: Tradebe is a privately-held environmental services company with regulated waste, hazardous waste, and recycling operations across the US and Europe. It competes with Stericycle in pharmaceutical and hazardous waste disposal for healthcare and industrial generators, with growing North American scale.
Direct peers
- Iron Mountain: Iron Mountain is the dominant North American records storage, secure document destruction, and information management company. Through its Recall acquisition and Shred-it legacy business, it competes directly with Stericycle's Shred-it brand for enterprise document destruction contracts in the healthcare sector.
- Daniels Health: Daniels Health is a global medical waste and sharps management company specializing in reusable containment systems and regulated medical waste services for hospitals and healthcare facilities. It competes head-to-head with Stericycle in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia with a similar sales-led model targeting enterprise healthcare accounts.
- Sharps Compliance: Sharps Compliance (now Sharps Technology) provides medical waste, sharps disposal, and pharmaceutical take-back solutions, including mail-back programs similar to Stericycle's SafeDrop and Seal&Send offerings. It targets pharmaceutical manufacturers, home health, and retail pharmacy customers with comparable regulated waste services.
- Clean Harbors: Clean Harbors is the leading North American provider of environmental, hazardous waste, and industrial services. It competes directly with Stericycle in regulated medical waste, pharmaceutical waste, and hazardous waste disposal for healthcare and industrial customers, with comparable compliance, treatment, and disposal infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stericycle social profiles
Digital presenceStericycle financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stericycle leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Stericycle funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stericycle M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A7 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stericycle
What does Stericycle do?
Stericycle provides regulated medical waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal services for healthcare facilities, alongside HIPAA and OSHA compliance training and secure document destruction (Shred-it). The company also offers specialty mail-back solutions (SafeDrop) and medication collection kiosks (MedDrop) for at-home and consumer drug take-back programs, serving hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, laboratories, and government facilities across North America and Europe.
Is Stericycle a public or private company?
Stericycle is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Stericycle founded?
Stericycle was founded in 1989. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Stericycle based?
Stericycle is headquartered in Lake Forest, United States, in the North America region.
How does Stericycle make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Regulated Medical Waste Services are the primary driver. The others are compliance Training Services, secure Document Shredding and specialty Waste Solutions.
Who are Stericycle's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Cintas Corporation, Veolia Environmental Services, Heritage Environmental Services, Waste Management and Republic Services. Tradebe Environmental Services is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Iron Mountain, Daniels Health, Sharps Compliance and Clean Harbors.
Does Stericycle have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stericycle.
What industry is Stericycle in?
Stericycle's product category is Medical Waste Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAIAFAJ, Medical & Biohazard Waste Disposal (RMW/Sharps), with a secondary code of IMAIAFAO, Confidential Document Destruction & Secure Recycling (Shredding). Its NAICS code is 562112 and its SIC code is 4955.