7.2.8.2Vertical

Landfill Operations

Companies owning and operating permitted solid waste landfills.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Solid Waste Collection & Disposal (7.2.8), the segment that Landfill Operations sits within. They are not figures for Landfill Operations on its own.

Market size
~$85B
Growth
~7.0%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~9,682 firms
Firms by employee count

84.4% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 8,167 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe1,515 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
1,17477%
100–499
22615%
500+
1158%

Steady growth on price rather than volume, which is the tell of a consolidated market. The national operators raise prices ahead of inflation because the alternative for a customer is a competitor who does not serve that street. Landfill airspace is the scarce asset.

NAICS 562111, 562119, 562212, 562213, 562219. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Recurring collection fees plus landfill disposal (tipping)

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$8,793,408
Revenue per employee
$288,597
Employees per firm
28.2
Recurring revenue
High

recurring, contracted collection

EBITDA margin
Strong

landfill-backed, pricing-power economics

Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 21% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 115 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Consolidated oligopoly owning the landfills.
  • Recurring, non-discretionary, recession-resistant demand.
  • Landfills the scarce, high-barrier, valuable assets.

NAICS 562111, 562119, 562212, 562213, 562219. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandWest VirginiaIowaNew Hampshire

New Hampshire, Iowa and West Virginia are states where independent haulers survived the national consolidation. Waste concentration measures how many separate companies still hold routes, not how much waste is produced.

New HampshireIowaWest Virginia

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 562111/562119/562212/562213/562219. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityHigh

Who’s acquiring

  • Solid-waste majors
  • PE-backed waste platforms
  • Regional-hauler consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Continuous roll-up of regional haulers.
  • Landfill scarcity and pricing power.
  • Recurring, cash-generative economics.

Find Landfill Operations acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Landfill Operations (7.2.8.2) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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