XML 72 R57.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.20.2

Segment Reporting (Changes in Goodwill by Reportable Segment) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, Beginning Balance	$ 5,510,851	$ 5,031,685
Goodwill acquired	63,651	223,028
Goodwill divested		(845)
Impact of changes in foreign currency	(39,935)	43,688
Goodwill, Ending Balance	5,534,567	5,297,556
Eastern [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, Beginning Balance	1,331,180	1,126,486
Goodwill acquired	6,228	22,146
Goodwill, Ending Balance	1,337,408	1,148,632
Southern [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, Beginning Balance	1,528,225	1,517,610
Goodwill acquired	3,648	10,329
Goodwill divested		(845)
Goodwill, Ending Balance	1,531,873	1,527,094
Western [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, Beginning Balance	400,037	398,174
Goodwill acquired	43,151	1,334
Goodwill, Ending Balance	443,188	399,508
Central [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, Beginning Balance	729,470	540,435
Goodwill acquired	10,450	189,194
Goodwill, Ending Balance	739,920	729,629
Canada [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, Beginning Balance	1,521,939	1,448,980
Goodwill acquired	174	25
Impact of changes in foreign currency	(39,935)	43,688
Goodwill, Ending Balance	$ 1,482,178	$ 1,492,693

X

- Definition

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(10)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120398452&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120320667&loc=SL49117168-202975

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99380562&loc=d3e13770-109266

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_Goodwill
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillAcquiredDuringPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) from foreign currency translation adjustments and purchase accounting adjustments of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Section 25
-Paragraph 16
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116868678&loc=d3e961-128460

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (g)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (f)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillTranslationAndPurchaseAccountingAdjustments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount of divestiture of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillWrittenOffRelatedToSaleOfBusinessUnit
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=wcn_EasternMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=wcn_SouthernMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=wcn_WesternMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=wcn_CentralMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=wcn_CanadaMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: