# Waste Management **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/waste-management **Vertical:** Manufacturing **Subcategory:** Enterprise **Tier:** Leader **Website:** waste-management.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary Waste Management (WM) reported $20.4B revenue in FY2024, up 6% YoY. #1 US waste and recycling company. Growing renewable energy from landfill gas. ~45,000 employees. HQ: Houston, TX. ## Company Overview Waste Management, Inc. is the largest waste management and environmental services company in the United States, headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1968 and going public in 1971, Waste Management collects, transfers, disposes of, and recycles solid waste for millions of residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company reported revenues of $20.4B in FY2024, up approximately 6% year-over-year, with a market capitalization of approximately $75B. Waste Management's business spans collection (residential and commercial solid waste pickup, ~55% of revenue), disposal (operating 260+ landfills and waste-to-energy facilities, ~25%), and recycling (processing recyclable materials at 95+ processing facilities, ~10%). The company serves over 20 million residential customers and 3 million commercial customers across North America. Waste Management is also increasingly a renewable energy company — its landfills capture methane gas from decomposing waste and convert it to electricity or renewable natural gas (RNG) for commercial sale. With 130+ landfill gas projects, WM is one of the largest RNG producers in North America. Waste Management trades on NYSE (WM) with a market cap of approximately $75B. CEO Jim Fish has emphasized pricing power (waste is an essential, inelastic service), technology investments in fleet automation and recycling AI, and growth in the high-margin RNG business. Completed the $4.6B acquisition of Stericycle (medical waste) in 2024, expanding into healthcare waste management. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Waste Management's annual revenue? Waste Management reported $20.4B in revenue for FY2024, up approximately 6% year-over-year, driven by collection volume growth, pricing improvements, and expanding renewable energy revenue. ### What does Waste Management do? Waste Management collects, hauls, transfers, and disposes of solid waste for residential and commercial customers. It operates landfills, waste-to-energy plants, recycling facilities, and produces renewable natural gas from landfill methane. ### What is Waste Management's stock ticker? Waste Management trades on NYSE under ticker WM. It is a component of the S&P 500. ### How does Waste Management produce renewable energy? WM captures methane gas generated by decomposing waste in its 260+ landfills. This gas is converted to electricity (sold to the grid) or refined into renewable natural gas (RNG) sold as vehicle fuel or pipeline gas. WM is one of the largest RNG producers in North America. ### Who are Waste Management's main competitors? WM's primary competitor is Republic Services (RSG), which together with Waste Management controls approximately 50% of the US solid waste market. Regional players include Casella Waste Systems, GFL Environmental, and Clean Harbors. ### What recycling and sustainability services does Waste Management offer beyond basic trash collection? Waste Management operates the largest recycling infrastructure in North America, processing approximately 15 million tons of recyclable materials annually through its Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) that sort paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, and metals. The company also provides organics recycling (composting and food waste processing), electronic waste collection programs, and hazardous waste disposal for industrial customers. Waste Management's renewable energy operations generate electricity and pipeline-quality natural gas from landfill gas captured at its disposal sites — the company is one of the largest producers of landfill gas-to-energy in the US, generating enough electricity for over 700,000 homes. ### How does Waste Management's acquisition of Stericycle affect its business? Waste Management completed its acquisition of Stericycle — the largest US medical waste and secure document destruction company — in November 2024 for approximately $7.2 billion, significantly expanding WM's capabilities in specialized regulated waste streams beyond municipal solid waste. Stericycle's medical waste shredding and incineration facilities, pharmaceutical waste disposal, and Shred-it secure document destruction services serve hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, and businesses that generate regulated waste requiring specialized handling and compliance documentation. This acquisition positions WM to serve the full spectrum of waste generation for large healthcare and enterprise customers rather than competing solely in municipal and commercial solid waste. ### How does Waste Management's route optimization and technology investment improve operational efficiency? Waste Management invests heavily in route optimization software, RFID-tagged collection containers, onboard vehicle computers, and AI-powered dispatch systems that improve collection efficiency — reducing the number of truck miles driven per ton of waste collected and improving on-time service rates across its 26 million+ customer accounts. The company's fleet of 18,000+ collection vehicles is being transitioned toward compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric options, with CNG trucks running on landfill gas from WM's own sites creating a renewable closed-loop fuel cycle. Technology investments in automated sorting at MRFs using AI-powered optical sorters and robotics improve recycling commodity purity and reduce manual sorting labor costs. ## Tags b2b, manufacturing, public, global, fortune500, enterprise --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*