WM

What WM does

WM (NYSE: WM), formerly Waste Management, is North America's largest provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, headquartered in Houston, Texas and operating across all 50 US states and Canada with nearly 50,000 team members. The company delivers curbside residential waste and recycling collection, commercial waste and recycling pickup, roll-off dumpster rentals, construction and demolition debris removal, bulk pickup, specialty recycling for bulbs, batteries, and electronics, and — through its Stericycle and Shred-it subsidiaries — regulated medical waste management and secure information destruction. WM owns and operates an industry-leading infrastructure network of landfills, transfer stations, and recycling facilities that processed 14 million tons of material for recycling or reuse annually, making it North America's largest residential recycler.

Underlying the service delivery is a technology stack centered on the elements data analytics platform (visibility into waste, recycling, and sustainability strategy for National Accounts customers), WM Smart Truck natural-gas-fueled fleet with route optimization, the My WM self-service portal and mobile app for residential and small commercial customers, and the WM One Solution platform unifying solid waste, recycling, and special/hazardous waste treatment. Sub-brands include Bagster, WM Healthcare Solutions, WM At Your Door Special Collection, LampTracker Recycle By Mail, and WM Advisory Services for sustainability consulting.

WM makes money through subscription-based residential and commercial collection contracts (monthly and annual billing), pay-as-you-go roll-off rentals, managed services for National Accounts and healthcare facilities, and managed services for secure destruction. Distribution is a hybrid: direct-to-consumer online and mobile ordering for residential and small commercial customers, sales-led for mid-market commercial accounts, and dedicated enterprise field sales for National Accounts customers with 10+ locations. Customer segments span individual homeowners, SMBs, multi-location enterprises across retail, grocery, hospitality, restaurants, healthcare, and manufacturing, and healthcare facilities requiring regulated waste compliance. The company's primary legal operating entity is Waste Management Service Center, Inc., with WM Intellectual Property Holdings, L.L.C. holding IP assets.

Name

WM

Legal name

Waste Management Service Center, Inc.

Website

https://wm.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

WM (NYSE: WM) is North America's largest environmental solutions provider, offering residential, commercial, industrial, and healthcare waste collection, recycling, and secure destruction services across all 50 US states and Canada with nearly 50,000 team members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111), Waste Collection (5621), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622), Waste Management and Remediation Services (562)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfill Disposal (BPALACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) & Universal Waste Sorting Facilities (EUAIADAK), Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection & Program Operations (BPALAFAL)

Keywords

• Waste collection services
• Recycling services
• Dumpster rental
• Commercial waste management
• Medical waste disposal

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Residential Waste Collection: Recurring curbside trash and recycling pickup services for homeowners. Weekly collection with subscription-based billing.
2. Commercial Waste Collection: Business trash and recycling pickup with one-year service agreements. Dumpster rentals and recurring pickup services.
3. Roll-Off Dumpster Rental: Temporary dumpster rentals for construction, commercial, and residential projects. One-time and recurring service options.
4. National Accounts Services: Scalable waste and recycling programs for multi-region businesses with dedicated account management and data analytics.
5. Healthcare Waste Services: Medical waste disposal, compliance solutions, sharps disposal, pharmaceutical waste, and secure document destruction through Stericycle and Shred-it acquisitions.
6. Specialty Recycling Services: Mail-in recycling kits for bulbs, batteries, electronics, and e-waste through LampTracker and Recycle By Mail programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WM (formerly Waste Management) is North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, offering waste collection, recycling, and dumpster rental services for residential, commercial, industrial, and healthcare customers. Core offerings include curbside residential trash and recycling pickup, commercial dumpster services, roll-off dumpster rentals in sizes from 10 to 40 yards, construction and demolition waste disposal, medical waste services through Stericycle, and secure document destruction through Shred-it.

Product overview

WM (formerly Waste Management) is North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, operating as a platform of interconnected waste management services. The core offerings include Residential Trash Collection & Recycling (curbside pickup with My WM portal management) and Commercial Waste Disposal & Recycling (with various dumpster sizes), supported by specialized services like Roll-Off Dumpster Rental (available in 10-40 yard sizes), Bulk Trash Pickup, Construction & Demolition Waste Disposal, and Bagster® bags. Healthcare solutions are delivered through WM Healthcare Solutions, WM One Solution, and acquired brands Stericycle (medical waste) and Shred-it (secure destruction). The elements® data analytics platform powers National Accounts services, while WM Advisory Services provides sustainability consulting. Additional offerings include eWaste disposal, LampTracker® mail-in recycling, WM At Your Door Special Collection®, Waste Compactors, Portable Toilets, Drop-Off Locations (landfills and recycling facilities), and educational programs like Recycle Right and Recycling 101. The My WM platform serves as the unified customer portal for account management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bagster®: A dumpster-in-a-bag® product offering holds up to 3,300 lbs. of waste and debris, available at home improvement stores nationwide and online.
• WM Healthcare Solutions℠
• WM One Solution℠
• elements®
• WM Advisory Services

Products and services

• Residential Trash Collection and Recycling

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 million tons of material recycled or reused annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• StericyclecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquired by WM, Stericycle is a trusted leader in regulated waste and compliance solutions. Through this acquisition, WM offers an expanded portfolio of healthcare waste services including medical waste disposal, OSHA and HIPAA compliance solutions, sharps disposal, and pharmaceutical waste management across North America.
• Shred-itcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquired by WM, Shred-it is a pioneer in secure information destruction. Partners with WM to offer secure destruction of paper documents, hard drives, and specialty items to help protect sensitive information and support compliance with privacy regulations.
• The ThunderbirdsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Thunderbirds are the organizers of the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament. WM and The Thunderbirds created the WM Phoenix Open Working For Tomorrow Fund to support emissions reduction, sustainable materials management, and water management projects. The event has achieved zero waste status for 13 consecutive years.
• Change the CourseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater restoration partner for WM Phoenix Open. Millions of gallons of water are restored to support AZ Tribal Nations through Water Restoration Certificates. 2025 beneficiary of WM Phoenix Open Working For Tomorrow Fund.
• Waste NotminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArizona-based non-profit focused on feeding the hungry. 2025 beneficiary of WM Phoenix Open Working For Tomorrow Fund supporting charitable giving initiatives.
• The First TeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth development organization. The First Tee's Dream Day activities at WM Phoenix Open help drive local youth engagement with the tournament.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Waste Connections: Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a leading North American solid waste services company with a similar integrated collection, transfer, landfill, and recycling model. It competes head-to-head with WM for commercial and municipal contracts, especially after acquiring Advanced Disposal Services.
• GFL Environmental: GFL Environmental (NYSE: GFL) is a Canadian-headquartered solid waste and environmental services provider operating across Canada and the U.S. It offers residential, commercial, and industrial collection plus recycling and soil remediation, directly competing with WM in several Canadian provinces and U.S. regions.
• Republic Services: Republic Services is the closest direct competitor to WM, also a publicly traded (NYSE: RSG) integrated solid waste services provider in North America offering residential, commercial, and industrial collection plus landfills and recycling. The two together dominate the U.S. hauling market and directly compete on national accounts and route density.
• Casella Waste Systems: Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ: CWST) is a vertically integrated solid waste, recycling, and resource management company primarily serving the northeastern U.S. It directly competes with WM in overlapping regions and has been expanding its resource solutions arm adjacent to WM's recycling operations.

Broad incumbents

• Reworld (formerly Covanta): Reworld (NYSE: REWR, formerly Covanta) is a waste-to-energy and sustainable materials management company operating incineration and energy-from-waste facilities. It is comparable to WM's landfill gas-to-energy and RNG operations and overlaps with WM's disposal-side business.
• Clean Harbors: Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) is the largest North American provider of environmental and industrial services, including hazardous waste management, industrial cleaning, and emergency response. It competes with WM's Stericycle-acquired hazardous waste and compliance business, though its portfolio extends well beyond solid waste.

Regional players

• Secure Energy Services: Secure Energy Services is a Canadian-based environmental solutions and energy infrastructure company with waste management and recycling operations serving Western Canada. It overlaps with WM's Canadian footprint in select provinces and competes for industrial waste contracts.

Others

• Shred-it (legacy): Pre-acquisition, Shred-it was a leading North American secure information destruction provider. It is directly comparable to WM's secure destruction offering, with similar enterprise compliance customer segments, and would otherwise compete in document destruction services.
• Stericycle (legacy): Before WM's acquisition, Stericycle was a publicly traded regulated medical waste and compliance services company. It remains a directly comparable operator to WM's healthcare waste segment and would otherwise be a direct competitor for hospital and clinic contracts.

Emerging players

• Heritage-Crystal Clean: Heritage-Crystal Clean (NASDAQ: HCCI) provides parts cleaning, hazardous and non-hazardous waste services, and used oil collection to industrial customers. It is comparable to WM's industrial/hazardous waste and oil collection adjacencies through its One Solution platform, though at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WasteManagement
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/wastemanagement
• Facebookfacebook.com/WasteManagement
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/waste-management
• Instagraminstagram.com/wastemanagement
• TikToktiktok.com/@official_wm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about WM