We provide solid waste collection services to commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers in 40 states and Puerto Rico through 400 collection companies. Our residential collection operations involve the curbside collection of refuse from small containers into collection vehicles for transport to transfer stations or directly to landfills. Residential solid waste collection services are typically performed under contracts with municipalities, which we generally secure by competitive bid and which give us exclusive rights to service all or a portion of the homes in their respective jurisdictions. Residential solid waste collection services may also be performed on a subscription basis, in which individual homeowners contract directly with us. The fees received for subscription residential collection are based primarily on market factors, frequency and type of service, the distance to the disposal facility and cost of disposal. In general, subscription residential collection fees are paid quarterly in advance by the residential customers receiving the service.
In our commercial and industrial collection operations, we supply our customers with waste containers of varying sizes. We also rent compactors to large waste generators. Commercial collection services are generally performed under one- to three-year service agreements, and fees are determined by considerations such as the following:
- Market factors
- Collection frequency
- Type of equipment furnished
- Type and volume or weight of the waste collected
- Distance to the disposal facility
- Cost of disposal
We rent waste containers to construction sites and also provide waste collection services to industrial and construction facilities on a contractual basis with terms ranging from a single pickup to one year or longer. Our construction services are provided to the commercial construction and home building sectors. We collect the containers or compacted waste and transport the waste either to a landfill or a transfer station.
We also provide recycling services in certain markets in compliance with local laws or the terms of our franchise agreements. These services include the curbside collection of residential recyclable waste and the provision of a variety of recycling services to commercial and industrial customers.