Employee Benefit Plans (Details 11) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Republic Contributions to Plan	$ 48.7	$ 50.4	$ 48.5
Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Pension plan number	36-6044243
Pension protection act zone status		Critical	Critical
Funding improvement or rehabilitation plan status pending / implemented	Implemented
Republic Contributions to Plan	3.9	4.1	4.2
Surcharge Imposed	No
Expiration date of CBA	Aug. 31, 2013
Local Seven Three One Private Scavengers And Garage Attendants Pension Trust Fund [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Pension plan number	36-6513567
Pension protection act zone status		Endangered	Critical
Funding improvement or rehabilitation plan status pending / implemented	Implemented
Republic Contributions to Plan	3.4	3.2	3.0
Surcharge Imposed	No
Collective bargaining agreement expiration date range start	Sep. 30, 2013
Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Pension plan number	91-6145047
Pension protection act zone status		Safe	Safe
Funding improvement or rehabilitation plan status pending / implemented	No
Republic Contributions to Plan	31.6	32.6	30.8
Surcharge Imposed	No
Collective bargaining agreement expiration date range end	Feb. 01, 2012
Individually Significant Plans [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Republic Contributions to Plan	38.9	39.9	38.0
All Other Plans [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Republic Contributions to Plan	$ 9.8	$ 10.5	$ 10.5