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Basis of Presentation | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2022
Basis of Presentation |
Basis of Presentation | 1. Basis of Presentation The financial statements presented in this report represent the consolidation of Waste Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation; its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries; and certain variable interest entities for which Waste Management, Inc. or its subsidiaries are the primary beneficiaries as described in Note 18. Waste Management, Inc. is a holding company and all operations are conducted by its subsidiaries. When the terms “the Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” are used in this document, those terms refer to Waste Management, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities. When we use the term “WMI,” we are referring only to Waste Management, Inc., the parent holding company. We are North America’s leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, providing services throughout the United States (“U.S.”) and Canada. We partner with our residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers and the communities we serve to manage and reduce waste at each stage from collection to disposal, while recovering valuable resources and creating clean, renewable energy. Our “Solid Waste” business is operated and managed locally by our subsidiaries that focus on distinct geographic areas and provide collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling and resource recovery services. Through our subsidiaries, including our Waste Management Renewable Energy (“WM Renewable Energy”) business, we are also a leading developer, operator and owner of landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the U.S and Canada that produce renewable electricity and renewable natural gas, which is a significant source of fuel for our natural gas fleet. Our senior management evaluates, oversees and manages the financial performance of our Solid Waste operations through two operating segments. Our East Tier primarily consists of geographic areas located in the Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes region and substantially all of Canada. Our West Tier primarily includes geographic areas located in the Western U.S., including the upper Midwest region, and British Columbia, Canada. Each of our Solid Waste operating segments provides integrated environmental services, including collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal. The East and West Tiers are presented in this report and constitute our existing Solid Waste business. On October 30, 2020, we acquired Advanced Disposal Services, Inc. (“Advanced Disposal”), the operations of which are presented in this report within our existing Solid Waste tiers. We also provide additional services that are not managed through our Solid Waste business, which are presented in this report as “Other.” Additional information related to our acquisition of Advanced Disposal and segments is included in Notes 17 and 19, respectively. Reclassifications When necessary, reclassifications have been made to our prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation and are not material to our consolidated financial statements.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the general note to the financial statements for the reporting entity which may include, descriptions of the basis of presentation, business description, significant accounting policies, consolidations, reclassifications, new pronouncements not yet adopted and changes in accounting principles. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2197479 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2134479 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 250 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122394 Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 + Details
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