Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information - shares	Mar. 31, 2017	Apr. 20, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	WM
Entity Registrant Name	WASTE MANAGEMENT INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000823768
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		441,940,757

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 30	$ 32
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $24 and $24, respectively	1,634	1,700
Other receivables	338	432
Parts and supplies	95	90
Other assets	126	122
Total current assets	2,223	2,376
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $17,284 and $17,152, respectively	10,929	10,950
Goodwill	6,223	6,215
Other intangible assets, net	572	591
Investments in unconsolidated entities	295	320
Other assets	408	407
Total assets	20,650	20,859
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	720	799
Accrued liabilities	963	1,085
Deferred revenues	479	493
Current portion of long-term debt	396	417
Total current liabilities	2,558	2,794
Long-term debt, less current portion	8,646	8,893
Deferred income taxes	1,521	1,482
Landfill and environmental remediation liabilities	1,692	1,675
Other liabilities	695	695
Total liabilities	15,112	15,539
Commitments and contingencies
Waste Management, Inc. stockholders' equity:
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 1,500,000,000 shares authorized; 630,282,461 shares issued	6	6
Additional paid-in capital	4,885	4,850
Retained earnings	7,497	7,388
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(66)	(80)
Treasury stock at cost, 188,376,546 and 190,966,584 shares, respectively	(6,805)	(6,867)
Total Waste Management, Inc. stockholders' equity	5,517	5,297
Noncontrolling interests	21	23
Total equity	5,538	5,320
Total liabilities and equity	$ 20,650	$ 20,859

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 24	$ 24
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	$ 17,284	$ 17,152
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	1,500,000,000	1,500,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	630,282,461	630,282,461
Treasury stock, shares	188,376,546	190,966,584

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Operating revenues	$ 3,440	$ 3,176
Costs and expenses:
Operating	2,166	1,993
Selling, general and administrative	390	362
Depreciation and amortization	328	312
Restructuring	1	2
Income from divestitures	(3)	(1)
Total costs and expenses	2,882	2,668
Income from operations	558	508
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net	(92)	(95)
Equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities	(32)	(7)
Other, net		(10)
Total other income (expense)	(124)	(112)
Income (loss) before income taxes	434	396
Income tax expense	137	140
Consolidated net income	297	256
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)	(2)
Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$ 298	$ 258
Basic earnings per common share	$ 0.68	$ 0.58
Diluted earnings per common share	0.67	0.58
Cash dividends declared per common share	$ 0.425	$ 0.410

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Consolidated net income	$ 297	$ 256
Derivative instruments, net	2	7
Available-for-sale securities, net	1	1
Foreign currency translation adjustments	10	61
Post-retirement benefit obligation, net	1
Other comprehensive income, net of tax expense	14	69
Comprehensive income	311	325
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)	(2)
Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$ 312	$ 327

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Cash flows from operating activities:
Consolidated net income	$ 297	$ 256
Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	328	312
Deferred income tax expense	36	32
Interest accretion on landfill liabilities	22	22
Interest accretion on and discount rate adjustments to environmental remediation liabilities and recovery assets	1	1
Provision for bad debts	11	11
Equity-based compensation expense	36	30
Net gain from disposal of assets	(3)	(5)
(Income) expense from divestitures, asset impairments and other, net	22	(1)
Equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities, net of dividends	7	7
Change in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions and divestitures:
Receivables	151	111
Other current assets	(8)	(11)
Other assets	(7)	75
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(144)	(89)
Deferred revenues and other liabilities	(28)	(19)
Net cash provided by operating activities	721	732
Cash flows from investing activities:
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired	(10)	(537)
Capital expenditures	(332)	(317)
Proceeds from divestitures of businesses and other assets (net of cash divested)	7	13
Other, net	(5)	(6)
Net cash used in investing activities	(340)	(847)
Cash flows from financing activities:
New borrowings	54	1,301
Debt repayments	(541)	(647)
Net commercial paper borrowings	210
Common stock repurchase program		(250)
Cash dividends	(194)	(183)
Exercise of common stock options	77	18
Tax payments associated with equity-based compensation transactions	(32)	(19)
Other, net	43	(40)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(383)	180
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(2)	65
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	32	39
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$ 30	$ 104

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (Unaudited) - 3 months ended Mar. 31, 2017 - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	Total	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-In Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Noncontrolling Interests [Member]
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2016	$ 5,320	$ 6	$ 4,850	$ 7,388	$ (80)	$ (6,867)	$ 23
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2016		630,282				(190,967)
Consolidated net income	297			298			(1)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax expense	14				14
Cash dividends	(194)			(194)
Equity-based compensation transactions, net	103		(9)	5		$ 107
Equity-based compensation transaction, shares						2,991
Common stock repurchase program			45			$ (45)
Common stock repurchase program, shares						(402)
Other, net	(2)		(1)				(1)
Other, net, shares						1
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2017	$ 5,538	$ 6	$ 4,885	$ 7,497	$ (66)	$ (6,805)	$ 21
Ending balance, shares at Mar. 31, 2017		630,282				(188,377)

Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

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 13. Waste Management 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., its consolidated subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities. When we use the term “WM,” we are referring only to Waste Management, Inc., the parent holding company.

We are North America’s leading provider of comprehensive waste management environmental services. 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 provides collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling and resource recovery services. Through our subsidiaries, we are also a leading developer, operator and owner of landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States.

We evaluate, oversee and manage the financial performance of our Solid Waste business subsidiaries through our 17 Areas. 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 segments is included in Note 7.

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of March 31, 2017 and for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 are unaudited. In the opinion of management, these financial statements include all adjustments, which, unless otherwise disclosed, are of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows, and changes in equity for the periods presented. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year. The financial statements presented herein should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

In preparing our financial statements, we make numerous estimates and assumptions that affect the accounting for and recognition and disclosure of assets, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses. We must make these estimates and assumptions because certain information that we use is dependent on future events, cannot be calculated with precision from available data or simply cannot be calculated. In some cases, these estimates are difficult to determine, and we must exercise significant judgment. In preparing our financial statements, the most difficult, subjective and complex estimates and the assumptions that present the greatest amount of uncertainty relate to our accounting for landfills, environmental remediation liabilities, long-lived asset impairments and reserves associated with our insured and self-insured claims. Actual results could differ materially from the estimates and assumptions that we use in the preparation of our financial statements.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Equity-Based Compensation — In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-09 associated with equity-based compensation as part of its simplification initiative to reduce the cost and complexity of compliance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided. This amended guidance was effective for the Company on January 1, 2017 and required the following changes to the presentation of our financial statements:

•

Excess tax benefits or deficiencies for share-based payments are now recorded as a discrete item in the period shares vest or stock options are exercised as an adjustment to income tax expense or benefit rather than additional paid-in capital. This change was applied prospectively as of January 1, 2017. The Company did not have any excess tax benefits that were not previously recognized as of January 1, 2017. See Note 4 for discussion of the current year impact;

•

As of January 1, 2017, the calculation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding was changed prospectively to no longer include excess tax benefits as assumed proceeds. This change did not have a material impact on our current year diluted earnings per share;

•

Cash flows related to excess tax benefits or deficiencies are included in net cash provided by operating activities rather than as a financing activity. The Company adopted this change retrospectively, which resulted in an increase to net cash provided by operating activities and a corresponding decrease to net cash provided by financing activities of $7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016;

•

Cash paid to taxing authorities when withholding shares from an employee’s vesting or exercise of equity-based compensation awards for tax-withholding purposes is now considered a repurchase of the Company’s equity instruments and is classified as net cash used in financing activities rather than as an operating activity. The Company adopted this change retrospectively, which resulted in an increase to net cash provided by operating activities and a corresponding decrease to net cash provided by financing activities of $19 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016; and

•

The Company has elected to continue to estimate forfeitures rather than account for forfeitures as they occur.

Goodwill Impairment Testing — In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04 which simplifies the goodwill impairment test by eliminating Step 2 of the quantitative assessment and should reduce the cost and complexity of evaluating goodwill for impairment. Under the amended guidance, when a quantitative assessment is required, an entity will perform a goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An impairment charge will be measured as the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, not to exceed the total amount of recorded goodwill. This amended guidance, effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, permits early adoption. The Company’s early adoption on January 1, 2017 did not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Reclassifications

When necessary, reclassifications have been made to our prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation.

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Text Block [Abstract]

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

2.	Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

Liabilities for landfill and environmental remediation costs are presented in the table below (in millions):


	March 31, 2017						December 31, 2016
	Landfill		Environmental Remediation		Total		Landfill		Environmental Remediation		Total
Current (in accrued liabilities)	$	133	$	26	$	159	$	119	$	28	$	147
Long-term		1,475		217		1,692		1,457		218		1,675

	$	1,608	$	243	$	1,851	$	1,576	$	246	$	1,822

The changes to landfill and environmental remediation liabilities for the three months ended March 31, 2017 are reflected in the table below (in millions):


	Landfill			Environmental Remediation
December 31, 2016	$	1,576		$	246
Obligations incurred and capitalized		15			—
Obligations settled		(14	)		(4	)
Interest accretion		22			1
Revisions in estimates and interest rate assumptions		8			1
Acquisitions, divestitures and other adjustments		1			(1	)

March 31, 2017	$	1,608		$	243

At several of our landfills, we provide financial assurance by depositing cash into restricted trust funds or escrow accounts for purposes of settling final capping, closure, post-closure and environmental remediation obligations. Generally, these trust funds are established to comply with statutory requirements and operating agreements. See Note 13 for additional information related to these trusts.

Debt

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Debt

Debt

The following table summarizes the major components of debt at each balance sheet date (in millions) and provides the maturities and interest rate ranges of each major category as of March 31, 2017:


	March 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
$2.25 billion revolving credit facility, maturing July 2020 (weighted average interest rate of 1.9% as of December 31, 2016)	$	—	$	426
Commercial paper program (weighted average interest rate of 1.2% as of March 31, 2017)		210		—
Other letter of credit facilities, maturing through December 2018		—		—
Canadian term loan and revolving credit facility, maturing March 2019 (weighted average effective interest rate of 2.1% as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016)		205		239
Senior notes maturing through 2045, interest rates ranging from 2.4% to 7.75% (weighted average interest rate of 4.6% as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016)		6,033		6,033
Tax-exempt bonds, maturing through 2045, fixed and variable interest rates ranging from 0.9% to 5.7% (weighted average interest rate of 1.9% as of March 31, 2017 and 1.8% as of December 31, 2016)		2,304		2,304
Capital leases and other, maturing through 2055, interest rates up to 12%		290		308

		9,042		9,310
Current portion of long-term debt		396		417

	$	8,646	$	8,893

Debt Classification

As of March 31, 2017, the current portion of our long-term debt balance of $396 million includes (i) $210 million of short-term borrowings under our commercial paper program and (ii) $186 million of other debt with scheduled maturities within the next 12 months, including $126 million of tax-exempt bonds.

As of March 31, 2017, we have classified $590 million of 6.1% senior notes that mature in March 2018 as long-term because we have the intent and ability to refinance these senior notes on a long-term basis as supported by the forecasted available capacity under our long-term U.S. revolving credit facility (“$2.25 billion revolving credit facility”), as discussed below.

In addition, we have $490 million of tax-exempt bonds with term interest rate periods that expire within the next 12 months and an additional $471 million of variable-rate tax-exempt bonds that are supported by letters of credit. The interest rates on our variable-rate tax-exempt bonds are generally reset on either a daily or weekly basis through a remarketing process. All recent tax-exempt bond remarketings have successfully placed Company bonds with investors at market-driven rates and we currently expect future remarketings to be successful. However, if the remarketing agent is unable to remarket our bonds, the remarketing agent can put the bonds to us. In the event of a failed remarketing, we have the intent and ability to refinance these bonds on a long-term basis as supported by the forecasted available capacity under our $2.25 billion revolving credit facility, as discussed below. Accordingly, we have also classified these borrowings as long-term in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2017.

Access to and Utilization of Credit Facilities and Commercial Paper Program

$2.25 Billion Revolving Credit Facility — Our $2.25 billion revolving credit facility maturing in July 2020 provides us with credit capacity to be used for either cash borrowings or to support letters of credit or commercial paper. The rates we pay for outstanding loans are generally based on LIBOR plus a spread depending on the Company’s debt rating assigned by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard and Poor’s. As of March 31, 2017, we had no outstanding borrowings under this facility. We had $783 million of letters of credit issued and $210 million of outstanding borrowings under our commercial paper program, both supported by this facility, leaving unused and available credit capacity of $1,257 million as of March 31, 2017.

Commercial Paper Program — In August 2016, we entered into a $1.5 billion commercial paper program that enables us to borrow funds for up to 397 days at competitive interest rates. The commercial paper program is fully supported by our $2.25 billion revolving credit facility. As of March 31, 2017, we had $210 million of net outstanding borrowings under our commercial paper program.

Canadian Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility — We have a Canadian credit agreement (which includes a term loan and revolving credit facility) that matures in March 2019. This agreement provides the Company (i) C$50 million of revolving credit capacity, which can be used for borrowings or letters of credit, and (ii) C$460 million of non-revolving term credit that is prepayable without penalty and principal amounts repaid may not be reborrowed. As of March 31, 2017, we had no borrowings or letters of credit outstanding under the Canadian revolving credit facility.

Other Letter of Credit Facilities — As of March 31, 2017, we had utilized $457 million of other letter of credit facilities, which are both committed and uncommitted, with terms maturing through December 2018.

Debt Borrowings and Repayments

$2.25 Billion Revolving Credit Facility — During the three months ended March 31, 2017, we had net repayments of $426 million under our $2.25 billion revolving credit facility, with $210 million replaced with net borrowings under our commercial paper program and the remainder paid with available cash.

Canadian Term Loan — During the three months ended March 31, 2017, we repaid C$48 million, or $36 million, of net advances under our Canadian term loan with available cash.

Cross-Currency Swaps

In March 2016, our Canadian subsidiaries repaid C$370 million of intercompany debt to WM Holdings with proceeds from our Canadian term loan. Concurrent with the repayment of the intercompany debt, we terminated the related cross-currency swaps and received $67 million in cash. The cash received from our termination of these swaps was classified as a change in other current assets and other assets within net cash provided by operating activities in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. In addition, we recognized $8 million of expense associated with the termination of these swaps during the three months ended March 31, 2016, which was included in other, net in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

4.	Income Taxes

Our effective income tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 was 31.7% and 35.4%, respectively. We evaluate our effective income tax rate at each interim period and adjust it as facts and circumstances warrant. The difference between federal income taxes computed at the federal statutory rate and reported income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2017 was primarily due to the favorable impact of excess tax benefits related to equity-based compensation and federal tax credits offset, in part, by the unfavorable impact of state and local income taxes and the tax implications of impairments. The difference between federal income taxes computed at the federal statutory rate and reported income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2016 was primarily due to the unfavorable impact of state and local income taxes offset by the favorable impact of federal tax credits.

Equity-Based Compensation — During the three months ended March 31, 2017, we recognized a reduction in our income tax expense of $32 million for excess tax benefits related to the vesting or exercise of equity-based compensation awards. See Note 1 for discussion of our adoption of ASU 2016-09.

Investments Qualifying for Federal Tax Credits — We have significant financial interests in entities established to invest in and manage low-income housing properties and a refined coal facility. We support the operations of these entities in exchange for a pro-rata share of the tax credits they generate. The low-income housing investments and the coal facility’s refinement processes qualify for federal tax credits that we expect to realize through 2020 under Section 42 and through 2019 under Section 45, respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code.

We account for our investments in these entities using the equity method of accounting, recognizing our share of each entity’s results of operations and other reductions in the value of our investments in equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities, within our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. During both the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, we recognized $6 million of net losses and a reduction in our income tax expense of $11 million, primarily because of tax credits realized from these investments. In addition, during both the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, we recognized interest expense of $1 million associated with our investment in low-income housing properties. See Note 13 for additional information related to these unconsolidated variable interest entities.

Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings Per Share

5.	Earnings Per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share were computed using the following common share data (shares in millions):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2017			2016
Number of common shares outstanding at end of period		441.9			444.7
Effect of using weighted average common shares outstanding		(0.6	)		1.4

Weighted average basic common shares outstanding		441.3			446.1
Dilutive effect of equity-based compensation awards and other contingently issuable shares(a)		2.8			2.5

Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding		444.1			448.6

Potentially issuable shares		9.2			11.2
Number of anti-dilutive potentially issuable shares excluded from diluted common shares outstanding		3.0			2.5

(a)	As of January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2016-09 prospectively and no longer include excess tax benefits as assumed proceeds. See Note 1 for further discussion.

Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

6.	Commitments and Contingencies

Financial Instruments — We have obtained letters of credit, surety bonds and insurance policies and have established trust funds and issued financial guarantees to support tax-exempt bonds, contracts, performance of landfill final capping, closure and post-closure requirements, environmental remediation, and other obligations. Letters of credit generally are supported by our $2.25 billion revolving credit facility and other credit facilities established for that purpose. These facilities are discussed further in Note 3. Surety bonds and insurance policies are supported by (i) a diverse group of third-party surety and insurance companies; (ii) an entity in which we have a noncontrolling financial interest or (iii) wholly-owned insurance companies, the sole business of which is to issue surety bonds and/or insurance policies on our behalf.

Management does not expect that any claims against or draws on these instruments would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. We have not experienced any unmanageable difficulty in obtaining the required financial assurance instruments for our current operations. In an ongoing effort to mitigate risks of future cost increases and reductions in available capacity, we continue to evaluate various options to access cost-effective sources of financial assurance.

Insurance — We carry insurance coverage for protection of our assets and operations from certain risks including general liability, automobile liability, real and personal property, workers’ compensation, directors’ and officers’ liability, pollution legal liability and other coverages we believe are customary to the industry. Our exposure to loss for insurance claims is generally limited to the per incident deductible under the related insurance policy. Our exposure could increase if our insurers are unable to meet their commitments on a timely basis.

We have retained a significant portion of the risks related to our general liability, automobile liability and workers’ compensation claims programs. “General liability” refers to the self-insured portion of specific third-party claims made against us that may be covered under our commercial General Liability Insurance Policy. For our self-insured retentions, the exposure for unpaid claims and associated expenses, including incurred but not reported losses, is based on an actuarial valuation or internal estimates. The accruals for these liabilities could be revised if future occurrences or loss development significantly differ from such valuations and estimates. We do not expect the impact of any known casualty, property, environmental or other contingency to have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Guarantees — In the ordinary course of our business, WM and WM Holdings enter into guarantee agreements associated with their subsidiaries’ operations. Additionally, WM and WM Holdings have each guaranteed all of the senior debt of the other entity. No additional liabilities have been recorded for these intercompany guarantees because all of the underlying obligations are reflected in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 14 for further information.

We have also guaranteed the obligations and certain performance requirements of, and provided indemnification to, third parties as of March 31, 2017 in connection with both consolidated and unconsolidated entities, including agreements guaranteeing certain market value losses for approximately 850 homeowners’ properties adjacent to or near 22 of our landfills. Our indemnification obligations generally arise from divestitures and provide that we will be responsible for liabilities associated with our operations for events that occurred prior to the sale of the operations. Additionally, under certain of our acquisition agreements, we have provided for additional consideration to be paid to the sellers if established financial targets or other market conditions are achieved post-closing, and we have recognized liabilities for these contingent obligations based on an estimate of the fair value of these contingencies at the time of acquisition. We do not currently believe that contingent obligations to provide indemnification or pay additional post-closing consideration in connection with our divestitures or acquisitions will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In December 2014, we sold our Wheelabrator business, which provides waste-to-energy services and manages waste-to-energy facilities and independent power production plants. Before the divestiture of our Wheelabrator business, WM had guaranteed certain operational and financial performance obligations of Wheelabrator and its subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business. In conjunction with the divestiture, certain WM guarantees of Wheelabrator obligations were terminated, but others continued and are now guarantees of third-party obligations. When possible, Wheelabrator seeks to have the applicable third-party beneficiaries release WM from these guarantees, but until such efforts are successful or the underlying financial commitments are restructured, WM has agreed to retain the guarantees and, in exchange, receive a credit support fee or other financial assurances guaranteed by a third-party financial institution to protect WM in the event of non-compliance by Wheelabrator. The most significant of these guarantees specifically define WM’s maximum financial obligation over the course of the relevant agreements. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, WM’s maximum future payments under these guarantees was $96 million. WM’s exposure under certain of the performance guarantees is variable and a maximum exposure is not defined. We have recorded the fair value of the operational and financial performance guarantees, some of which could extend through 2038 if not terminated, in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The estimated fair value of WM’s potential obligation associated with guarantees of Wheelabrator obligations (net of credit support fee or indemnification asset) as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was $10 million and $11 million, respectively. We currently do not expect the financial impact of such operational and financial performance guarantees to materially exceed the recorded fair value.

Environmental Matters — A significant portion of our operating costs and capital expenditures could be characterized as costs of environmental protection. The nature of our operations, particularly with respect to the construction, operation and maintenance of our landfills, subjects us to an array of laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment. Under current laws and regulations, we may have liabilities for environmental damage caused by our operations, or for damage caused by conditions that existed before we acquired a site. In addition to remediation activity required by state or local authorities, such liabilities include potentially responsible party (“PRP”) investigations. The costs associated with these liabilities can include settlements, certain legal and consultant fees, as well as incremental internal and external costs directly associated with site investigation and clean-up.

Estimating our degree of responsibility for remediation is inherently difficult. We recognize and accrue for an estimated remediation liability when we determine that such liability is both probable and reasonably estimable. Determining the method and ultimate cost of remediation requires that a number of assumptions be made. There can sometimes be a range of reasonable estimates of the costs associated with the likely site remediation alternatives identified in the environmental impact investigation. In these cases, we use the amount within the range that is our best estimate. If no amount within a range appears to be a better estimate than any other, we use the amount that is the low end of such range. If we used the high ends of such ranges, our aggregate potential liability would be approximately $118 million higher than the $243 million recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2017. Our ultimate responsibility may differ materially from current estimates. It is possible that technological, regulatory or enforcement developments, the results of environmental studies, the inability to identify other PRPs, the inability of other PRPs to contribute to the settlements of such liabilities, or other factors could require us to record additional liabilities. Our ongoing review of our remediation liabilities, in light of relevant internal and external facts and circumstances, could result in revisions to our accruals that could cause upward or downward adjustments to our balance sheet or income from operations. These adjustments could be material in any given period.

As of March 31, 2017, we had been notified by the government that we are a PRP in connection with 76 locations listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) Superfund National Priorities List (“NPL”). Of the 76 sites at which claims have been made against us, 15 are sites we own. Each of the NPL sites we own was initially developed by others as a landfill disposal facility. At each of these facilities, we are working in conjunction with the government to evaluate or remediate identified site problems, and we have either agreed with other legally liable parties on an arrangement for sharing the costs of remediation or are working toward a cost-sharing agreement. We generally expect to receive any amounts due from other participating parties at or near the time that we make the remedial expenditures. The other 61 NPL sites, which we do not own, are at various procedural stages under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, known as CERCLA or Superfund.

The majority of proceedings involving NPL sites that we do not own are based on allegations that certain of our subsidiaries (or their predecessors) transported hazardous substances to the sites, often prior to our acquisition of these subsidiaries. CERCLA generally provides for liability for those parties owning, operating, transporting to or disposing at the sites. Proceedings arising under Superfund typically involve numerous waste generators and other waste transportation and disposal companies and seek to allocate or recover costs associated with site investigation and remediation, which costs could be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements. At some of the sites at which we have been identified as a PRP, our liability is well defined as a consequence of a governmental decision and an agreement among liable parties as to the share each will pay for implementing that remedy. At other sites, where no remedy has been selected or the liable parties have been unable to agree on an appropriate allocation, our future costs are uncertain.

In September 2016, the EPA announced a proposed remediation plan for the San Jacinto waste pits in Harris County, Texas, naming McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation (“MIMC”), a subsidiary of WM, as a PRP. MIMC operated the waste pits from 1965 to 1966. In 1998, WM acquired the stock of the parent entity of MIMC. The remedy and remedial design plan for the site are not yet final. A notice and comment period with respect to the remedy closed on January 12, 2017. MIMC filed comments, detailing its disagreement with the proposed remedy put forth by the EPA and is continuing to focus on a solution that it believes best protects the environment and public health. MIMC’s ultimate liability could be materially different from current estimates. We remain an active participant in the EPA’s process established to evaluate and determine the appropriate remedy and remedial design plan for this site. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, our recorded liability for MIMC’s estimated share of the EPA’s proposed remedy was $45 million and $46 million, respectively.

Item 103 of the SEC’s Regulation S-K requires disclosure of certain environmental matters when a governmental authority is a party to the proceedings, or such proceedings are known to be contemplated, unless we reasonably believe that the matter will result in no monetary sanctions, or in monetary sanctions, exclusive of interest and costs, of less than $100,000. The following matters are disclosed in accordance with that requirement. We do not currently believe that the eventual outcome of any such matters, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

On January 10, 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) solid waste program advised us that it intends to seek civil penalties against the Grows North and Tullytown Landfills (“Grows/Tullytown”), located in southeast Pennsylvania and owned by indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of WM, related to operational issues, including litter and leachate discharges. Additionally, we received notice on March 15, 2017 that the DEP clean water program also intends to seek civil penalties related to similar underlying events and operational issues at Grows/Tullytown. Our internal review of these matters is in process.

Waste Management of Hawaii, Inc. (“WMHI”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, may face civil claims from the Hawaii Department of Health and/or the EPA based upon water discharges at the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill, which WMHI operates for the city and county of Honolulu, following three major rainstorms in December 2010 and January 2011.

On July 10, 2013, the EPA issued a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) to Waste Management of Wisconsin, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, alleging violations of the Resource Conservation Recovery Act concerning acceptance of certain waste that was not permitted to be disposed of at the Metro Recycling & Disposal Facility in Franklin, Wisconsin. The parties are exchanging information and working to resolve the NOV.

From time to time, we are also named as defendants in personal injury and property damage lawsuits, including purported class actions, on the basis of having owned, operated or transported waste to a disposal facility that is alleged to have contaminated the environment or, in certain cases, on the basis of having conducted environmental remediation activities at sites. Some of the lawsuits may seek to have us pay the costs of monitoring of allegedly affected sites and health care examinations of allegedly affected persons for a substantial period of time even where no actual damage is proven. While we believe we have meritorious defenses to these lawsuits, the ultimate resolution is often substantially uncertain due to the difficulty of determining the cause, extent and impact of alleged contamination (which may have occurred over a long period of time), the potential for successive groups of complainants to emerge, the diversity of the individual plaintiffs’ circumstances, and the potential contribution or indemnification obligations of co-defendants or other third parties, among other factors. Additionally, we often enter into agreements with landowners imposing obligations on us to meet certain regulatory or contractual conditions upon site closure or upon termination of the agreements. Compliance with these agreements inherently involves subjective determinations and may result in disputes, including litigation.

Litigation — As a large company with operations across the United States and Canada, we are subject to various proceedings, lawsuits, disputes and claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. Many of these actions raise complex factual and legal issues and are subject to uncertainties. Actions that have been filed against us, and that may be filed against us in the future, include personal injury, property damage, commercial, customer, and employment-related claims, including purported state and national class action lawsuits related to: alleged environmental contamination, including releases of hazardous material and odors; sales and marketing practices, customer service agreements and prices and fees; and federal and state wage and hour and other laws. The plaintiffs in some actions seek unspecified damages or injunctive relief, or both. These actions are in various procedural stages, and some are covered, in part, by insurance. We currently do not believe that the eventual outcome of any such actions will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

WM’s charter and bylaws provide that WM shall indemnify against all liabilities and expenses, and upon request shall advance expenses to any person, who is subject to a pending or threatened proceeding because such person is or was a director or officer of the Company. Such indemnification is required to the maximum extent permitted under Delaware law. Accordingly, the director or officer must execute an undertaking to reimburse the Company for any fees advanced if it is later determined that the director or officer was not permitted to have such fees advanced under Delaware law. Additionally, the Company has direct contractual obligations to provide indemnification to each of the members of WM’s Board of Directors, our President and Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Operating Officer, our Chief Financial Officer and certain other senior vice presidents. The Company may incur substantial expenses in connection with the fulfillment of its advancement of costs and indemnification obligations in connection with actions or proceedings that may be brought against its former or current officers, directors and employees.

Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans — About 20% of our workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements with various local unions across the United States and Canada. As a result of some of these agreements, certain of our subsidiaries are participating employers in a number of trustee-managed multiemployer defined benefit pension plans (“Multiemployer Pension Plans”) for the covered employees. In connection with our ongoing renegotiation of various collective bargaining agreements, we may discuss and negotiate for the complete or partial withdrawal from one or more of these Multiemployer Pension Plans. A complete or partial withdrawal from a Multiemployer Pension Plan may also occur if employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement vote to decertify a union from continuing to represent them. Any other circumstance resulting in a decline in Company contributions to a Multiemployer Pension Plan through a reduction in the labor force, whether through attrition over time or through a business event (such as the discontinuation or nonrenewal of a customer contract, the decertification of a union, or relocation, reduction or discontinuance of certain operations) may also trigger a complete or partial withdrawal from one or more of these pension plans.

We do not believe that any future liability relating to our past or current participation in, or withdrawals from, the Multiemployer Pension Plans to which we contribute will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or liquidity. However, liabilities for future withdrawals could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or cash flows for a particular reporting period, depending on the number of employees withdrawn and the financial condition of the Multiemployer Pension Plan(s) at the time of such withdrawal(s).

Tax Matters — We participate in the IRS’s Compliance Assurance Process, which means we work with the IRS throughout the year towards resolving any material issues prior to the filing of our annual tax return. Any unresolved issues as of the tax return filing date are subject to routine examination procedures. We are currently in the examination phase of IRS audits for the tax years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and expect these audits to be completed within the next nine, 12, 18 and 30 months, respectively. We are also currently undergoing audits by various state and local jurisdictions for tax years that date back to 2009, with the exception of affirmative claims in a limited number of jurisdictions that date back to 2000. We maintain a liability for uncertain tax positions, the balance of which management believes is adequate. Results of audit assessments by taxing authorities are not currently expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Segment and Related Information

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment and Related Information

7.	Segment and Related Information

We evaluate, oversee and manage the financial performance of our Solid Waste subsidiaries through our 17 Areas. The 17 Areas constitute our operating segments and none of the Areas individually meet the quantitative criteria to be a separate reportable segment. We have evaluated the aggregation criteria and concluded that, based on the similarities between our Areas, including the fact that our Solid Waste business is homogenous across geographies with the same services offered across the Areas, aggregation of our Areas is appropriate for purposes of presenting our reportable segments. Accordingly, we have aggregated our 17 Areas into three tiers that we believe have similar economic characteristics and future prospects based in large part on a review of the Areas’ income from operations margins. The economic variations experienced by our Areas are attributable to a variety of factors, including regulatory environment of the Area; economic environment of the Area, including level of commercial and industrial activity; population density; service offering mix and disposal logistics, with no one factor being singularly determinative of an Area’s current or future economic performance.

Tier 1 is comprised of our operations across the Southern United States, with the exception of Southern California and the Florida peninsula and also includes the New England states, the tri-state area of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and Western Canada. Tier 2 includes Southern California, Eastern Canada, Wisconsin, Minnesota and a portion of the lower Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Tier 3 encompasses all the remaining operations including the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, the majority of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, the Florida peninsula, Illinois and Missouri.

The operating segments not evaluated and overseen through the 17 Areas are presented herein as “Other” as these operating segments do not meet the criteria to be aggregated with other operating segments and do not meet the quantitative criteria to be separately reported.

Summarized financial information concerning our reportable segments for the three months ended March 31 is shown in the following table (in millions):


	Gross Operating Revenues		Intercompany Operating Revenues			Net Operating Revenues		Income from Operations
2017
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,340	$	(238	)	$	1,102	$	366
Tier 2		842		(153	)		689		157
Tier 3		1,327		(233	)		1,094		227

Solid Waste		3,509		(624	)		2,885		750
Other		603		(48	)		555		(32	)

		4,112		(672	)		3,440		718
Corporate and Other		—		—			—		(160	)

Total	$	4,112	$	(672	)	$	3,440	$	558

2016
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,241	$	(212	)	$	1,029	$	334
Tier 2		781		(142	)		639		145
Tier 3		1,260		(212	)		1,048		208

Solid Waste		3,282		(566	)		2,716		687
Other		500		(40	)		460		(36	)

		3,782		(606	)		3,176		651
Corporate and Other		—		—			—		(143	)

Total	$	3,782	$	(606	)	$	3,176	$	508

Fluctuations in our operating results may be caused by many factors, including period-to-period changes in the relative contribution of revenue by each line of business, changes in commodity prices and general economic conditions. In addition, our revenues and income from operations typically reflect seasonal patterns. Our operating revenues tend to be somewhat higher in summer months, primarily due to the higher volume of construction and demolition waste. The volumes of industrial and residential waste in certain regions where we operate also tend to increase during the summer months. Our second and third quarter revenues and results of operations typically reflect these seasonal trends.

Service disruptions caused by severe storms, extended periods of inclement weather or climate extremes resulting from climate change can significantly affect the operating results of the Areas affected. On the other hand, certain destructive weather conditions that tend to occur during the second half of the year, such as the hurricanes that most often impact our operations in the Southern and Eastern United States, can increase our revenues in the Areas affected. While weather conditions and other event driven special projects can boost revenues through additional work for a limited time, as a result of significant start-up costs and other factors, such revenue can generate earnings at comparatively lower margins.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for reporting segments including data and tables. Reportable segments include those that meet any of the following quantitative thresholds a) it's reported revenue, including sales to external customers and intersegment sales or transfers is 10 percent or more of the combined revenue, internal and external, of all operating segments b) the absolute amount of its reported profit or loss is 10 percent or more of the greater, in absolute amount of 1) the combined reported profit of all operating segments that did not report a loss or 2) the combined reported loss of all operating segments that did report a loss c) its assets are 10 percent or more of the combined assets of all operating segments.

+ References

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+ Details

Acquisitions

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Acquisitions

8.	Acquisitions

Southern Waste Systems/Sun Recycling (“SWS”) — On January 8, 2016, Waste Management Inc. of Florida, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, acquired certain operations and business assets of SWS in Southern Florida for total consideration of $525 million. The acquired business assets include residential, commercial and industrial solid waste collection, processing/recycling and transfer operations, equipment, vehicles, real estate and customer agreements.

Total consideration for SWS was allocated as follows: $93 million of property and equipment, $182 million of other intangible assets and $250 million of goodwill. The acquisition accounting for this transaction was finalized in the third quarter of 2016. There were no significant measurement period adjustments recorded in 2016. The goodwill has been assigned to our Florida Area, in Tier 3, and is tax deductible.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for a business combination (or series of individually immaterial business combinations) completed during the period, including background, timing, and recognized assets and liabilities. The disclosure may include leverage buyout transactions (as applicable).

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+ Details

Asset Impairments and Unusual Items

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Unusual or Infrequent Items, or Both [Abstract]

Asset Impairments and Unusual Items

9.	Asset Impairments and Unusual Items

Equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities

During the three months ended March 31, 2017, we recognized a $25 million charge to write down an equity method investment in a waste diversion technology company to its fair value.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Equity [Abstract]

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

10.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The changes in the balances of each component of accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax benefit, which is included as a component of Waste Management, Inc. stockholders’ equity, are as follows (in millions, with amounts in parentheses representing increases to accumulated other comprehensive loss):


	Derivative Instruments			Available- for-Sale Securities		Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments			Post- Retirement Benefit Obligation			Total
Balance, December 31, 2016	$	(40	)	$	13	$	(47	)	$	(6	)	$	(80	)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax expense of $0, $1, $0 and $0, respectively		—			1		10			1			12
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax benefit of $1, $0, $0 and $0, respectively		2			—		—			—			2

Net current period other comprehensive income		2			1		10			1			14

Balance, March 31, 2017	$	(38	)	$	14	$	(37	)	$	(5	)	$	(66	)

There were no derivatives outstanding as of March 31, 2017. The amounts of other comprehensive loss before reclassifications associated with the effective portion of derivatives designated as cash flow hedges for the three months ended March 31, 2016 were as follows (in millions):


Foreign currency derivatives	$	(11	)
Tax benefit		4

Net of tax	$	(7	)

The significant amounts reclassified out of each component of accumulated other comprehensive loss associated with our cash flow hedges for the three months ended March 31 are as follows (in millions, with amounts in parentheses representing debits to the statement of operations classification):


	2017			2016			Statement of Operations Classification
Forward-starting interest rate swaps	$	(3	)	$	(3	)	Interest expense, net
Foreign currency derivatives		—			(20	)	Other, net

		(3	)		(23	)	Total before tax
		1			9		Tax benefit

Total reclassifications for the period	$	(2	)	$	(14	)	Net of tax

- Definition

The entire disclosure for comprehensive income, which includes, but is not limited to, 1) the amount of income tax expense or benefit allocated to each component of other comprehensive income, including reclassification adjustments, 2) the reclassification adjustments for each classification of other comprehensive income and 3) the ending accumulated balances for each component of comprehensive income.

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Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 11
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66004124&loc=d3e637-108580

Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 14
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66004124&loc=d3e681-108580

Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Reclassification Adjustments
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6522872

+ Details

Common Stock Repurchase Program

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Equity [Abstract]

Common Stock Repurchase Program

11.

Common Stock Repurchase Program

Our share repurchases have been authorized by our Board of Directors. The Company entered into an accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) agreement in November 2016 to repurchase $225 million of our common stock. At the beginning of the repurchase period, we delivered $225 million in cash and received 2.8 million shares based on a stock price of $63.41. The ASR agreement completed in February 2017, at which time we received 0.4 million additional shares based on a final weighted average per share purchase price during the repurchase period of $69.43.

We account for ASR agreements as two separate transactions: (i) as shares of reacquired common stock for the shares delivered to us upon effectiveness of the ASR agreement and (ii) as a forward contract indexed to our own common stock for the undelivered shares. The initial delivery of shares is included in treasury stock at cost, and results in an immediate reduction of the outstanding shares used to calculate the weighted average common shares outstanding for basic and diluted earnings per share. The forward contracts indexed to our own common stock meet the criteria for equity classification, and these amounts are initially recorded in additional paid-in capital and reclassified to treasury stock upon completion of the ASR agreement.

The Company has authorization for $750 million of future share repurchases. Any future share repurchases pursuant to the authorization of our Board of Directors will be made at the discretion of management and will depend on factors similar to those considered by the Board of Directors in making dividend declarations, including our net earnings, financial condition and cash required for future business plans.

Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurements

12.

Fair Value Measurements

Assets and Liabilities Accounted for at Fair Value

Our assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis include the following (in millions):


			Fair Value Measurements as of March 31, 2017 Using
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)(a)
Assets:
Money market funds	$	36	$	36	$	—	$	—
Available-for-sale securities		49		—		49		—
Fixed-income securities		40		—		40		—
Redeemable preferred stock		54		—		—		54

Total assets	$	179	$	36	$	89	$	54


			Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2016 Using
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)(a)
Assets:
Money market funds	$	35	$	35	$	—	$	—
Available-for-sale securities		46		—		46		—
Fixed-income securities		39		—		39		—
Redeemable preferred stock		54		—		—		54

Total assets	$	174	$	35	$	85	$	54

(a)

When available, Level 3 investments have been measured based on third-party investors’ recent or pending transactions in these securities, which are considered the best evidence of fair value. When this evidence is not available, we use other valuation techniques as appropriate and available. These valuation methodologies may include transactions in similar instruments, discounted cash flow analysis, third-party appraisals or industry multiples and public comparables. There has not been any significant change in the fair value of the redeemable preferred stock since our assessment as of December 31, 2016.

Fair Value of Debt

As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the carrying value of our debt was approximately $9.0 billion and $9.3 billion, respectively. The estimated fair value of our debt was approximately $9.5 billion and $9.7 billion as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. The fair value of our fixed-rate debt is estimated by using a discounted cash flow approach and current market rates for similar types of instruments. The carrying value of our variable-rate debt approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of the interest rates. The decrease in the fair value of our debt when comparing March 31, 2017 with December 31, 2016 is primarily related to net repayments of $277 million during 2017.

Although we have determined the estimated fair value amounts using available market information and commonly accepted valuation methodologies, considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, our estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that we, or holders of the instruments, could realize in a current market exchange. The use of different assumptions or estimation methodologies could have a material effect on the estimated fair values. The fair value estimates are based on Level 2 inputs of the fair value hierarchy available as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016. These amounts have not been revalued since those dates, and current estimates of fair value could differ significantly from the amounts presented.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References + Details

Variable Interest Entities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Variable Interest Entities

13.

Variable Interest Entities

Following is a description of our financial interests in both unconsolidated and consolidated variable interest entities that we consider significant:

Unconsolidated Variable Interest Entities

Low-Income Housing Properties and Refined Coal Facility Investments — We have significant financial interests in entities established to invest in and manage low-income housing properties and a refined coal facility. We support the operations of these entities in exchange for a pro-rata share of the tax credits they generate. We do not consolidate these entities as we have determined we are not the primary beneficiary of these entities as we do not have the power to individually direct the activities of these entities. Accordingly, we account for these investments under the equity method of accounting. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, our aggregate investment balance in these two entities was $81 million and $84 million, respectively. The debt balance related to our investment in low-income housing properties was $51 million and $57 million as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Additional information related to these investments is discussed in Note 4.

Trust Funds for Final Capping, Closure, Post-Closure or Environmental Remediation Obligations — We have significant financial interests in trust funds that were created to settle certain of our final capping, closure, post-closure or environmental remediation obligations. Certain of the funds have been established for the benefit of both the Company and the host community in which we operate. We have determined that these trust funds are variable interest entities; however, we do not consolidate these trust funds as we are not the primary beneficiary of these entities because either (i) we do not have the power to direct the significant activities of the trusts or (ii) power over the trusts’ significant activities is shared. Our interests in these trusts are accounted for as investments in unconsolidated entities and receivables. These amounts are recorded in other receivables, investments in unconsolidated entities and long-term other assets in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, as appropriate. Our investments and receivables related to these trusts had an aggregate carrying value of $95 million and $93 million as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.

As the party with primary responsibility to fund the related final capping, closure, post-closure or environmental remediation activities for these trust funds, we are exposed to risk of loss if there are declines in the fair value of the assets of the trust. We currently expect the trust funds to continue to meet the statutory requirements for which they were established.

Consolidated Variable Interest Entities

Trust Funds for Final Capping, Closure, Post-Closure or Environmental Remediation Obligations — We also have significant financial interests in trust funds, for which we are the sole beneficiary, that were created to settle certain of our final capping, closure, post-closure or environmental remediation obligations. We have determined that these trust funds are variable interest entities, and we consolidate these trust funds because we are the primary beneficiary. We account for these trust funds as long-term other assets in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. We reflect our interests in the unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities held by these trusts as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss. These trusts had a fair value of $97 million and $95 million as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.

We also have primary responsibility to fund the related final capping, closure, post-closure or environmental remediation activities for these trust funds, and we are exposed to risk of loss if there are declines in the fair value of the assets of the trust. We currently expect the trust funds to continue to meet the statutory requirements for which they were established.

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements

14.

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements

WM Holdings has fully and unconditionally guaranteed all of WM’s senior indebtedness. WM has fully and unconditionally guaranteed all of WM Holdings’ senior indebtedness. None of WM’s other subsidiaries have guaranteed any of WM’s or WM Holdings’ debt. As a result of these guarantee arrangements, we are required to present the following condensed consolidating financial information (in millions):

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEETS

March 31, 2017

(Unaudited)


	WM			WM Holdings		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	—		$	—	$	30		$	—		$	30
Other current assets		4			5		2,184			—			2,193

		4			5		2,214			—			2,223
Property and equipment, net		—			—		10,929			—			10,929
Investments in affiliates		20,267			20,686		—			(40,953	)		—
Advances to affiliates		—			—		13,389			(13,389	)		—
Other assets		14			36		7,448			—			7,498

Total assets	$	20,285		$	20,727	$	33,980		$	(54,342	)	$	20,650


LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	$	255		$	—	$	141		$	—		$	396
Accounts payable and other current liabilities		61			4		2,097			—			2,162

		316			4		2,238			—			2,558
Long-term debt, less current portion		6,027			304		2,315			—			8,646
Due to affiliates		13,712			153		5,299			(19,164	)		—
Other liabilities		12			—		3,896			—			3,908

Total liabilities		20,067			461		13,748			(19,164	)		15,112
Equity:
Stockholders’ equity		5,517			20,266		20,687			(40,953	)		5,517
Advances to affiliates		(5,299	)		—		(476	)		5,775			—
Noncontrolling interests		—			—		21			—			21

		218			20,266		20,232			(35,178	)		5,538

Total liabilities and equity	$	20,285		$	20,727	$	33,980		$	(54,342	)	$	20,650

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEETS (Continued)

December 31, 2016


	WM			WM Holdings		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	—		$	—	$	32		$	—		$	32
Other current assets		5			5		2,334			—			2,344

		5			5		2,366			—			2,376
Property and equipment, net		—			—		10,950			—			10,950
Investments in affiliates		19,924			20,331		—			(40,255	)		—
Investments to affiliates		—			—		13,000			(13,000	)		—
Other assets		14			30		7,489			—			7,533

Total assets	$	19,943		$	20,366	$	33,805		$	(53,255	)	$	20,859


LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	$	269		$	—	$	148		$	—		$	417
Accounts payable and other current liabilities		81			9		2,287			—			2,377

		350			9		2,435			—			2,794
Long-term debt, less current portion		6,229			304		2,360			—			8,893
Due to affiliates		13,350			128		5,299			(18,777	)		—
Other liabilities		16			—		3,836			—			3,852

Total liabilities		19,945			441		13,930			(18,777	)		15,539
Equity:
Stockholders’ equity		5,297			19,925		20,330			(40,255	)		5,297
Advances to affiliates		(5,299	)		—		(478	)		5,777			—
Noncontrolling interests		—			—		23			—			23

		(2	)		19,925		19,875			(34,478	)		5,320

Total liabilities and equity	$	19,943		$	20,366	$	33,805		$	(53,255	)	$	20,859

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

Three Months Ended March 31, 2017

(Unaudited)


	WM			WM Holdings			Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
Operating revenues	$	—		$	—		$	3,440		$	—		$	3,440
Costs and expenses		—			—			2,882			—			2,882

Income from operations		—			—			558			—			558

Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net		(74	)		(5	)		(13	)		—			(92	)
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries, net of tax expense		343			346			—			(689	)		—
Other, net		—			—			(32	)		—			(32	)

		269			341			(45	)		(689	)		(124	)

Income before income taxes		269			341			513			(689	)		434
Income tax expense (benefit)		(29	)		(2	)		168			—			137

Consolidated net income		298			343			345			(689	)		297
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—			—			(1	)		—			(1	)

Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	298		$	343		$	346		$	(689	)	$	298

Three Months Ended March 31, 2016

(Unaudited)


	WM			WM Holdings			Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
Operating revenues	$	—		$	—		$	3,176		$	—		$	3,176
Costs and expenses		—			—			2,668			—			2,668

Income from operations		—			—			508			—			508

Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net		(74	)		(5	)		(16	)		—			(95	)
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries, net of tax expense		304			307			—			(611	)		—
Other, net		(1	)		—			(16	)		—			(17	)

		229			302			(32	)		(611	)		(112	)

Income before income taxes		229			302			476			(611	)		396
Income tax expense (benefit)		(29	)		(2	)		171			—			140

Consolidated net income		258			304			305			(611	)		256
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—			—			(2	)		—			(2	)

Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	258		$	304		$	307		$	(611	)	$	258

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Unaudited)


	WM		WM Holdings		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
Comprehensive income	$	300	$	343	$	357		$	(689	)	$	311
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—		—		(1	)		—			(1	)

Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	300	$	343	$	358		$	(689	)	$	312

Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
Comprehensive income	$	260	$	304	$	372		$	(611	)	$	325
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—		—		(2	)		—			(2	)

Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	260	$	304	$	374		$	(611	)	$	327

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Three Months Ended March 31, 2017

(Unaudited)


	WM(a)		WM Holdings(a)		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries(a)			Eliminations		Consolidated
Cash flows provided by (used in):
Operating activities	$	—	$	—	$	721		$	—	$	721
Investing activities		—		—		(340	)		—		(340	)
Financing activities		—		—		(383	)		—		(383	)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		—		—		—			—		—
Intercompany activity		—		—		—			—		—

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		—		—		(2	)		—		(2	)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		—		—		32			—		32

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	—	$	—	$	30		$	—	$	30

(a)	Cash receipts and payments of WM and WM Holdings are transacted by Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries.

Three Months Ended March 31, 2016

(Unaudited)


	WM(b)		WM Holdings(b)		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries(b)			Eliminations		Consolidated
Cash flows provided by (used in):
Operating activities	$	—	$	—	$	732		$	—	$	732
Investing activities		—		—		(847	)		—		(847	)
Financing activities		—		—		180			—		180
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		—		—		—			—		—
Intercompany activity		—		—		—			—		—

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		—		—		65			—		65
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		—		—		39			—		39

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	—	$	—	$	104		$	—	$	104

(b)	Cash receipts and payments of WM and WM Holdings are transacted by Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries. We have revised the prior year presentation to reflect all relevant cash flow activities in the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries column.

New Accounting Standards Pending Adoption

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

New Accounting Standards Pending Adoption

15.

New Accounting Standards Pending Adoption

Income Taxes — In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16 associated with the timing of recognition of income taxes for intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory. The amended guidance requires the recognition of income taxes when the transfer of the asset occurs, which replaces current GAAP that defers the recognition of income taxes until the transferred asset is sold to a third party or otherwise recovered through use. The amended guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. We are assessing the provisions of this amended guidance; however, we currently do not expect that the adoption of this amended guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flows — In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15 associated with the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18 associated with the presentation of restricted cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The objective of both amendments was to reduce existing diversity in practice. The amended guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. We are in the process of assessing the provisions of this amended guidance; however, we currently do not expect that the adoption of this amended guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Financial Instrument Credit Losses — In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13 associated with the measurement of credit losses on financial instruments. The amended guidance replaces the current incurred loss impairment methodology of recognizing credit losses when a loss is probable, with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to assess credit loss estimates. The amended guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted beginning January 1, 2019. We are assessing the provisions of the amended guidance and evaluating the impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Leases — In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 associated with lease accounting. The amended guidance requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases with terms in excess of 12 months and currently classified as operating leases. The disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements will also be required. The amended guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. We are assessing the provisions of the amended guidance, have formed an implementation work team and begun training the various organizations that will be affected by the new standard. We are still evaluating the impact of this amended guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

Financial Instruments — In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01 associated with the recognition and measurement of financial assets and liabilities. The amended guidance will require certain equity investments that are not consolidated to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income rather than as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income. The amended guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. We are assessing the provisions of the amended guidance and evaluating the timing and impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition — In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09 associated with revenue recognition. The amended guidance requires companies to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Additionally, the amendments will require enhanced qualitative and quantitative disclosures regarding customer contracts. The amended guidance associated with revenue recognition is effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. The amended guidance may be applied retrospectively for all periods presented (“full retrospective method”) or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the amended guidance recognized at the date of initial adoption (“modified retrospective method”).

To assess the impact of the standard, we utilized internal resources to lead the implementation effort and supplemented them with external resources. Our internal resources read the amended guidance, attended trainings and consulted with other accounting professionals to assist with interpretation of the amended guidance. Surveys were sent to and returned by all operating segments to assess the potential impact of the amended guidance and to tailor specific procedures to evaluate the potential impact. Based on the results of these surveys, we judgmentally selected a sample of contracts based on size and specifically identified contract traits that could be accounted for differently under the amended guidance. We also selected a representative sample of contracts to corroborate the survey results. We have completed our preliminary review and analysis of all contracts selected for testing and we are in the process of performing additional analysis on certain contractual provisions, including provisions that could impact the classification of certain revenue streams and costs that are currently reported on a gross basis.

Based on our work to date, we believe we have identified all material contract types and costs that may be impacted by this amended guidance. We expect to quantify and disclose the expected impact, if any, of adopting this amended guidance in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2017. While we are still evaluating the impact of the amended guidance, we currently do not expect it to have a material impact on operating revenues.

Upon adoption of the amended guidance, we anticipate recognizing an asset from the capitalization of sales incentives as contract acquisitions costs. Under the amended guidance, sales incentives will be capitalized and amortized over the expected life of the customer relationship. Currently, the Company expenses approximately $65 million in sales incentives annually. As noted above, we are still evaluating the possible impacts on our consolidated financial statements, including potential changes in the classification of certain revenue streams and costs currently reported on a gross basis, the amount of sales incentives that will be capitalized and on our disclosures. The Company is currently planning to adopt the amended guidance using the modified retrospective method as of January 1, 2018.

Basis of Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

•

The Company has elected to continue to estimate forfeitures rather than account for forfeitures as they occur.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications

When necessary, reclassifications have been made to our prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation.

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Text Block [Abstract]

Liabilities for Landfill and Environmental Remediation Costs

Liabilities for landfill and environmental remediation costs are presented in the table below (in millions):


	March 31, 2017						December 31, 2016
	Landfill		Environmental Remediation		Total		Landfill		Environmental Remediation		Total
Current (in accrued liabilities)	$	133	$	26	$	159	$	119	$	28	$	147
Long-term		1,475		217		1,692		1,457		218		1,675

	$	1,608	$	243	$	1,851	$	1,576	$	246	$	1,822

Changes to Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

The changes to landfill and environmental remediation liabilities for the three months ended March 31, 2017 are reflected in the table below (in millions):


	Landfill			Environmental Remediation
December 31, 2016	$	1,576		$	246
Obligations incurred and capitalized		15			—
Obligations settled		(14	)		(4	)
Interest accretion		22			1
Revisions in estimates and interest rate assumptions		8			1
Acquisitions, divestitures and other adjustments		1			(1	)

March 31, 2017	$	1,608		$	243

Debt (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Debt

The following table summarizes the major components of debt at each balance sheet date (in millions) and provides the maturities and interest rate ranges of each major category as of March 31, 2017:


	March 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
$2.25 billion revolving credit facility, maturing July 2020 (weighted average interest rate of 1.9% as of December 31, 2016)	$	—	$	426
Commercial paper program (weighted average interest rate of 1.2% as of March 31, 2017)		210		—
Other letter of credit facilities, maturing through December 2018		—		—
Canadian term loan and revolving credit facility, maturing March 2019 (weighted average effective interest rate of 2.1% as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016)		205		239
Senior notes maturing through 2045, interest rates ranging from 2.4% to 7.75% (weighted average interest rate of 4.6% as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016)		6,033		6,033
Tax-exempt bonds, maturing through 2045, fixed and variable interest rates ranging from 0.9% to 5.7% (weighted average interest rate of 1.9% as of March 31, 2017 and 1.8% as of December 31, 2016)		2,304		2,304
Capital leases and other, maturing through 2055, interest rates up to 12%		290		308

		9,042		9,310
Current portion of long-term debt		396		417

	$	8,646	$	8,893

Earnings Per Share (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Common Share Data Used for Computing Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share were computed using the following common share data (shares in millions):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2017			2016
Number of common shares outstanding at end of period		441.9			444.7
Effect of using weighted average common shares outstanding		(0.6	)		1.4

Weighted average basic common shares outstanding		441.3			446.1
Dilutive effect of equity-based compensation awards and other contingently issuable shares(a)		2.8			2.5

Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding		444.1			448.6

Potentially issuable shares		9.2			11.2
Number of anti-dilutive potentially issuable shares excluded from diluted common shares outstanding		3.0			2.5

(a)	As of January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2016-09 prospectively and no longer include excess tax benefits as assumed proceeds. See Note 1 for further discussion.

Segment and Related Information (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Reportable Segments

Summarized financial information concerning our reportable segments for the three months ended March 31 is shown in the following table (in millions):


	Gross Operating Revenues		Intercompany Operating Revenues			Net Operating Revenues		Income from Operations
2017
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,340	$	(238	)	$	1,102	$	366
Tier 2		842		(153	)		689		157
Tier 3		1,327		(233	)		1,094		227

Solid Waste		3,509		(624	)		2,885		750
Other		603		(48	)		555		(32	)

		4,112		(672	)		3,440		718
Corporate and Other		—		—			—		(160	)

Total	$	4,112	$	(672	)	$	3,440	$	558

2016
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,241	$	(212	)	$	1,029	$	334
Tier 2		781		(142	)		639		145
Tier 3		1,260		(212	)		1,048		208

Solid Waste		3,282		(566	)		2,716		687
Other		500		(40	)		460		(36	)

		3,782		(606	)		3,176		651
Corporate and Other		—		—			—		(143	)

Total	$	3,782	$	(606	)	$	3,176	$	508

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Equity [Abstract]

Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss


	Derivative Instruments			Available- for-Sale Securities		Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments			Post- Retirement Benefit Obligation			Total
Balance, December 31, 2016	$	(40	)	$	13	$	(47	)	$	(6	)	$	(80	)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax expense of $0, $1, $0 and $0, respectively		—			1		10			1			12
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax benefit of $1, $0, $0 and $0, respectively		2			—		—			—			2

Net current period other comprehensive income		2			1		10			1			14

Balance, March 31, 2017	$	(38	)	$	14	$	(37	)	$	(5	)	$	(66	)

Other Comprehensive Loss Before Reclassifications Associated with the Effective Portion of Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges

The amounts of other comprehensive loss before reclassifications associated with the effective portion of derivatives designated as cash flow hedges for the three months ended March 31, 2016 were as follows (in millions):


Foreign currency derivatives	$	(11	)
Tax benefit		4

Net of tax	$	(7	)

Reclassification of Component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Associated with Cash Flow Hedges


	2017			2016			Statement of Operations Classification
Forward-starting interest rate swaps	$	(3	)	$	(3	)	Interest expense, net
Foreign currency derivatives		—			(20	)	Other, net

		(3	)		(23	)	Total before tax
		1			9		Tax benefit

Total reclassifications for the period	$	(2	)	$	(14	)	Net of tax

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis

Our assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis include the following (in millions):


			Fair Value Measurements as of March 31, 2017 Using
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)(a)
Assets:
Money market funds	$	36	$	36	$	—	$	—
Available-for-sale securities		49		—		49		—
Fixed-income securities		40		—		40		—
Redeemable preferred stock		54		—		—		54

Total assets	$	179	$	36	$	89	$	54


			Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2016 Using
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)(a)
Assets:
Money market funds	$	35	$	35	$	—	$	—
Available-for-sale securities		46		—		46		—
Fixed-income securities		39		—		39		—
Redeemable preferred stock		54		—		—		54

Total assets	$	174	$	35	$	85	$	54

(a)

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEETS

March 31, 2017

(Unaudited)


	WM			WM Holdings		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	—		$	—	$	30		$	—		$	30
Other current assets		4			5		2,184			—			2,193

		4			5		2,214			—			2,223
Property and equipment, net		—			—		10,929			—			10,929
Investments in affiliates		20,267			20,686		—			(40,953	)		—
Advances to affiliates		—			—		13,389			(13,389	)		—
Other assets		14			36		7,448			—			7,498

Total assets	$	20,285		$	20,727	$	33,980		$	(54,342	)	$	20,650


LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	$	255		$	—	$	141		$	—		$	396
Accounts payable and other current liabilities		61			4		2,097			—			2,162

		316			4		2,238			—			2,558
Long-term debt, less current portion		6,027			304		2,315			—			8,646
Due to affiliates		13,712			153		5,299			(19,164	)		—
Other liabilities		12			—		3,896			—			3,908

Total liabilities		20,067			461		13,748			(19,164	)		15,112
Equity:
Stockholders’ equity		5,517			20,266		20,687			(40,953	)		5,517
Advances to affiliates		(5,299	)		—		(476	)		5,775			—
Noncontrolling interests		—			—		21			—			21

		218			20,266		20,232			(35,178	)		5,538

Total liabilities and equity	$	20,285		$	20,727	$	33,980		$	(54,342	)	$	20,650

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEETS (Continued)

December 31, 2016


	WM			WM Holdings		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	—		$	—	$	32		$	—		$	32
Other current assets		5			5		2,334			—			2,344

		5			5		2,366			—			2,376
Property and equipment, net		—			—		10,950			—			10,950
Investments in affiliates		19,924			20,331		—			(40,255	)		—
Investments to affiliates		—			—		13,000			(13,000	)		—
Other assets		14			30		7,489			—			7,533

Total assets	$	19,943		$	20,366	$	33,805		$	(53,255	)	$	20,859


LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	$	269		$	—	$	148		$	—		$	417
Accounts payable and other current liabilities		81			9		2,287			—			2,377

		350			9		2,435			—			2,794
Long-term debt, less current portion		6,229			304		2,360			—			8,893
Due to affiliates		13,350			128		5,299			(18,777	)		—
Other liabilities		16			—		3,836			—			3,852

Total liabilities		19,945			441		13,930			(18,777	)		15,539
Equity:
Stockholders’ equity		5,297			19,925		20,330			(40,255	)		5,297
Advances to affiliates		(5,299	)		—		(478	)		5,777			—
Noncontrolling interests		—			—		23			—			23

		(2	)		19,925		19,875			(34,478	)		5,320

Total liabilities and equity	$	19,943		$	20,366	$	33,805		$	(53,255	)	$	20,859

Condensed Consolidating Statements of Operations

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

Three Months Ended March 31, 2017

(Unaudited)


	WM			WM Holdings			Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
Operating revenues	$	—		$	—		$	3,440		$	—		$	3,440
Costs and expenses		—			—			2,882			—			2,882

Income from operations		—			—			558			—			558

Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net		(74	)		(5	)		(13	)		—			(92	)
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries, net of tax expense		343			346			—			(689	)		—
Other, net		—			—			(32	)		—			(32	)

		269			341			(45	)		(689	)		(124	)

Income before income taxes		269			341			513			(689	)		434
Income tax expense (benefit)		(29	)		(2	)		168			—			137

Consolidated net income		298			343			345			(689	)		297
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—			—			(1	)		—			(1	)

Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	298		$	343		$	346		$	(689	)	$	298

Three Months Ended March 31, 2016

(Unaudited)


	WM			WM Holdings			Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
Operating revenues	$	—		$	—		$	3,176		$	—		$	3,176
Costs and expenses		—			—			2,668			—			2,668

Income from operations		—			—			508			—			508

Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net		(74	)		(5	)		(16	)		—			(95	)
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries, net of tax expense		304			307			—			(611	)		—
Other, net		(1	)		—			(16	)		—			(17	)

		229			302			(32	)		(611	)		(112	)

Income before income taxes		229			302			476			(611	)		396
Income tax expense (benefit)		(29	)		(2	)		171			—			140

Consolidated net income		258			304			305			(611	)		256
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—			—			(2	)		—			(2	)

Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	258		$	304		$	307		$	(611	)	$	258

Condensed Consolidating Statements of Comprehensive Income

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Unaudited)


	WM		WM Holdings		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries			Eliminations			Consolidated
Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
Comprehensive income	$	300	$	343	$	357		$	(689	)	$	311
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—		—		(1	)		—			(1	)

Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	300	$	343	$	358		$	(689	)	$	312

Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
Comprehensive income	$	260	$	304	$	372		$	(611	)	$	325
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		—		—		(2	)		—			(2	)

Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$	260	$	304	$	374		$	(611	)	$	327

Condensed Consolidating Statements of Cash Flows

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Three Months Ended March 31, 2017

(Unaudited)


	WM(a)		WM Holdings(a)		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries(a)			Eliminations		Consolidated
Cash flows provided by (used in):
Operating activities	$	—	$	—	$	721		$	—	$	721
Investing activities		—		—		(340	)		—		(340	)
Financing activities		—		—		(383	)		—		(383	)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		—		—		—			—		—
Intercompany activity		—		—		—			—		—

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		—		—		(2	)		—		(2	)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		—		—		32			—		32

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	—	$	—	$	30		$	—	$	30

(a)	Cash receipts and payments of WM and WM Holdings are transacted by Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries.

Three Months Ended March 31, 2016

(Unaudited)


	WM(b)		WM Holdings(b)		Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries(b)			Eliminations		Consolidated
Cash flows provided by (used in):
Operating activities	$	—	$	—	$	732		$	—	$	732
Investing activities		—		—		(847	)		—		(847	)
Financing activities		—		—		180			—		180
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		—		—		—			—		—
Intercompany activity		—		—		—			—		—

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		—		—		65			—		65
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		—		—		39			—		39

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	—	$	—	$	104		$	—	$	104

(b)	Cash receipts and payments of WM and WM Holdings are transacted by Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries. We have revised the prior year presentation to reflect all relevant cash flow activities in the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries column.

Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) Areas
Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Number of areas \| Areas	17
Accounting Standards Update 2016-09 [Member] \| Excess Tax Benefits Or Deficiencies [Member]
Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Increase to net cash provided by operating activities	$ 7
Decrease to net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(7)
Accounting Standards Update 2016-09 [Member] \| Tax Payments Associated with Equity Based Compensation Transactions [Member]
Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Increase to net cash provided by operating activities	19
Decrease to net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	$ (19)

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities - Liabilities for Landfill and Environmental Remediation Costs (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Total, Environmental Remediation	$ 243
Current (in accrued liabilities)	159	$ 147
Long-term	1,692	1,675
Total	1,851	1,822
Landfill [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Current (in accrued liabilities), Landfill	133	119
Long-term, Landfill	1,475	1,457
Total, Landfill	1,608	1,576
Environmental Remediation Liabilities [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Current (in accrued liabilities), Environmental Remediation	26	28
Long-term, Environmental Remediation	217	218
Total, Environmental Remediation	$ 243	$ 246

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities - Changes to Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Environmental Exit Cost [Line Items]
Interest accretion	$ 22	$ 22
Ending balance, environmental remediation	243
Landfill [Member]
Environmental Exit Cost [Line Items]
Beginning balance, landfill	1,576
Obligations incurred and capitalized	15
Obligations settled	(14)
Interest accretion	22
Revisions in estimates and interest rate assumptions	8
Acquisitions, divestitures and other adjustments	1
Ending balance, landfill	1,608
Environmental Remediation Liabilities [Member]
Environmental Exit Cost [Line Items]
Beginning balance, environmental remediation	246
Obligations settled	(4)
Interest accretion	1
Revisions in estimates and interest rate assumptions	1
Acquisitions, divestitures and other adjustments	(1)
Ending balance, environmental remediation	$ 243

Debt - Components of Debt (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commercial paper, short-term borrowings	$ 210
Debt and capital lease obligations	9,042	$ 9,310
Current portion of long-term debt	396	417
Long-term debt, less current portion	8,646	8,893
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and capital lease obligations		426
Canadian Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and capital lease obligations	205	239
Commercial Paper [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commercial paper, short-term borrowings	210
Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and capital lease obligations	6,033	6,033
Tax-exempt Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and capital lease obligations	2,304	2,304
Capital Leases and Other [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and capital lease obligations	$ 290	$ 308

Debt - Components of Debt (Parenthetical) (Detail) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Capital Leases and Other [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
End period of maturity for debt instrument	Dec. 31, 2055
Commercial Paper [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate	1.20%
Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate	4.60%	4.60%
End period of maturity for debt instrument	Mar. 01, 2045
Tax-exempt Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate	1.90%	1.80%
End period of maturity for debt instrument	Aug. 01, 2045
Minimum [Member] \| Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	2.40%
Minimum [Member] \| Tax-exempt Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	0.90%
Maximum [Member] \| Capital Leases and Other [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	12.00%
Maximum [Member] \| Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	7.75%
Maximum [Member] \| Tax-exempt Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.70%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit Facility, aggregate capacity	$ 2,250,000,000	$ 2,250,000,000
Weighted average interest rate		1.90%
Maturity date of credit facility	Jul. 30, 2020
Other Letter of Credit Facilities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maturity date of credit facility	Dec. 31, 2018
Canadian Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate	2.10%	2.10%
Maturity date of credit facility	Mar. 31, 2019

Debt - Additional Information (Detail)	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
Debt - Additional Information (Detail)	Aug. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 CAD	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 CAD	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 CAD	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Current portion of long-term debt			$ 396,000,000				$ 417,000,000
Commercial paper, borrowings			210,000,000
Debt maturing within twelve months			186,000,000
Net borrowings (repayments)			210,000,000
Foreign Currency Derivatives [Member] \| Cash Flow Hedging [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Cash received in termination of foreign exchange cross currency swaps					$ 67,000,000
Expense associated with termination of foreign exchange cross currency swaps					$ 8,000,000
Canadian Term Loan and Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit Facility, aggregate capacity \| CAD		CAD 50,000,000
Outstanding borrowings under credit facility \| CAD						CAD 0
Letters of credit outstanding revolving credit facility \| CAD						CAD 0
Maturity date of credit facility		Mar. 31, 2019
Tax-exempt Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt maturing within twelve months			126,000,000
Tax-exempt bonds subject to re-pricing within the next 12 months			490,000,000
Tax-exempt Bonds [Member] \| Variable Rate [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Variable-rate tax-exempt bonds			471,000,000
6.10% Senior Notes Mature in March 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior note amount intended to refinance on a long-term basis			$ 590,000,000
Interest rate			6.10%			6.10%
Maximum [Member] \| Tax-exempt Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			5.70%			5.70%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit Facility, aggregate capacity			$ 2,250,000,000				$ 2,250,000,000
Outstanding borrowings under credit facility			0
Letters of credit outstanding revolving credit facility			783,000,000
Unused and available credit capacity			$ 1,257,000,000
Maturity date of credit facility			Jul. 30, 2020	Jul. 30, 2020
Net borrowings (repayments)			$ 426,000,000
Non Revolving Term Credit Facility [Member] \| 2016 Canadian Credit Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit Facility, aggregate capacity \| CAD		CAD 460,000,000
Committed and Uncommitted [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Letters of credit outstanding revolving credit facility			457,000,000
Canadian Term Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Net borrowings (repayments)			36,000,000	CAD 48,000,000
Canadian Term Loan [Member] \| Currency Swaps [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Net amount of derivatives for intercompany debt CAD \| CAD		CAD 370,000,000
Commercial Paper [Member] \| Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Commercial Paper Program [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commercial paper, borrowings			$ 210,000,000
Credit Facility, Borrowing Capacity	$ 1,500,000,000
Commercial Paper [Member] \| Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt term	397 days

Income Taxes - Additional information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Effective tax rate of income (loss) before income taxes	31.70%	35.40%
Reduction in income tax expense	$ 32
Equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities	32	$ 7
Interest expense	92	95
Investments Qualifying for Federal Tax Credits [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities	6	6
Interest expense	1	1
Income tax benefit, including tax credits, from equity method investment	$ 11	$ 11

Earnings Per Share - Common Share Data Used for Computing Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Detail) - shares shares in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Number of common shares outstanding at end of period	441.9	444.7
Effect of using weighted average common shares outstanding	(0.6)	1.4
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding	441.3	446.1
Dilutive effect of equity-based compensation awards and other contingently issuable shares	2.8	2.5
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding	444.1	448.6
Potentially issuable shares	9.2	11.2
Number of anti-dilutive potentially issuable shares excluded from diluted common shares outstanding	3.0	2.5

Commitments and Contingencies - Additional information (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) site Landfill Homeowners	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Approximate number of homeowners' properties adjacent to or near certain of our landfills with agreements guaranteeing market value \| Homeowners	850
Number of landfills adjacent to or near homeowners' properties with agreements guaranteeing market value \| Landfill	22
Environmental remediation reasonably possible additional losses high estimate	$ 118,000,000
Environmental remediation liabilities	$ 243,000,000
Number of sites listed on the EPA's NPL for which we have been notified we are a PRP \| site	76
Number of owned sites listed on the EPA's NPL for which we have been notified we are a PRP \| site	15
Number of non-owned sites listed on the EPA's NPL for which we have been notified we are a PRP \| site	61
Approximate percentage of workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements	20.00%
2014 Audit [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Expected time of completion of IRS audits	9 months
2015 Audit [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Expected time of completion of IRS audits	12 months
2016 Audit [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Expected time of completion of IRS audits	18 months
2017 Audit [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Expected time of completion of IRS audits	30 months
Wheelabrator [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Maximum future payments regarding guarantees of unconsolidated entities financial obligations	$ 96,000,000	$ 96,000,000
Operational and financial performance obligations, net liability	10,000,000	11,000,000
San Jacinto Waste Pits [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Cost estimate associated with environmental remediation liability	45,000,000	$ 46,000,000
Maximum [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Dollar threshold for environmental matters requiring disclosure under item 103 of the SEC's Regulation S-K	100,000
Domestic Line of Credit [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Credit Facility, aggregate capacity	$ 2,250,000,000

Segment and Related Information - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 Areas
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of geographical areas	17
Solid Waste [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of geographical areas	17

Segment and Related Information - Reportable Segments (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	$ 3,440	$ 3,176
Income from operations	558	508
Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	4,112	3,782
Intercompany Operating Revenues [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	(672)	(606)
Corporate and Other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from operations	(160)	(143)
Solid Waste: Tier 1 [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	1,102	1,029
Income from operations	366	334
Solid Waste: Tier 1 [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	1,340	1,241
Solid Waste: Tier 1 [Member] \| Intercompany Operating Revenues [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	(238)	(212)
Solid Waste: Tier 2 [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	689	639
Income from operations	157	145
Solid Waste: Tier 2 [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	842	781
Solid Waste: Tier 2 [Member] \| Intercompany Operating Revenues [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	(153)	(142)
Solid Waste: Tier 3 [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	1,094	1,048
Income from operations	227	208
Solid Waste: Tier 3 [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	1,327	1,260
Solid Waste: Tier 3 [Member] \| Intercompany Operating Revenues [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	(233)	(212)
Solid Waste [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	2,885	2,716
Income from operations	750	687
Solid Waste [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	3,509	3,282
Solid Waste [Member] \| Intercompany Operating Revenues [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	(624)	(566)
Other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	555	460
Income from operations	(32)	(36)
Other [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	603	500
Other [Member] \| Intercompany Operating Revenues [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	(48)	(40)
Operating Group Total [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	3,440	3,176
Income from operations	718	651
Operating Group Total [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	4,112	3,782
Operating Group Total [Member] \| Intercompany Operating Revenues [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net operating revenues	$ (672)	$ (606)

Acquisitions - Additional Information (Detail) - Southern Waste Systems [Member] $ in Millions	Jan. 08, 2016 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total consideration, net of cash acquired, for business acquisitions closed during the year	$ 525
Allocation of consideration to property and equipment	93
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets	182
Allocation of consideration to goodwill	$ 250

Asset Impairments and Unusual Items - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Waste Diversion Technology Company [Member]
Income Expense From Divestitures Asset Impairments And Unusual Items [Line Items]
Impairment charges	$ 25

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss - Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Beginning balance	$ (80)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	12
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss net of tax	2
Other comprehensive income, net of tax expense	14	$ 69
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Ending balance	(66)
Derivative Instruments [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Beginning balance	(40)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss net of tax	2
Other comprehensive income, net of tax expense	2
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Ending balance	(38)
Available-for-Sale Securities [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Beginning balance	13
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	1
Other comprehensive income, net of tax expense	1
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Ending balance	14
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Beginning balance	(47)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	10
Other comprehensive income, net of tax expense	10
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Ending balance	(37)
Post - Retirement Benefit Obligation [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Beginning balance	(6)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	1
Other comprehensive income, net of tax expense	1
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Ending balance	$ (5)

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss - Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (Parenthetical) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Derivative Instruments [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Other comprehensive income, tax	$ 0	$ (4)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, tax	1
Available-for-Sale Securities [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Other comprehensive income, tax	1
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, tax	0
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Other comprehensive income, tax	0
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, tax	0
Post - Retirement Benefit Obligation [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Other comprehensive income, tax	0
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, tax	$ 0

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss - Other Comprehensive Loss Before Reclassifications Associated With the Effective Portion of Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges (Detail) - Derivative Instruments [Member] - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Tax benefit	$ 0	$ 4
Net of tax		(7)
Foreign Currency Derivatives [Member]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]
Other comprehensive loss on derivatives before tax		$ (11)

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss - Reclassification of Component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Associated with Cash Flow Hedges (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Other, net		$ (10)
Income (loss) before income taxes	$ 434	396
Tax (expense) benefit	(137)	(140)
Total reclassifications for the period, Net of tax	297	256
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member] \| Derivative Instruments [Member]
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Income (loss) before income taxes	(3)	(23)
Tax (expense) benefit	1	9
Total reclassifications for the period, Net of tax	(2)	(14)
Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member] \| Derivative Instruments [Member]
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Interest expense, net	$ (3)	(3)
Foreign Currency Derivatives [Member] \| Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member] \| Derivative Instruments [Member]
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Other, net		$ (20)

Common Stock Repurchase Program - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2017	Nov. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Stock Repurchase Program [Line Items]
Cash paid for repurchase of common stock			$ 250,000,000
Maximum capital allocated for repurchases of shares				$ 750,000,000
Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreement (ASR) [Member]
Stock Repurchase Program [Line Items]
Common stock repurchases		$ 225,000,000
Shares of common stock received under ASR	0.4	2.8
Cash paid for repurchase of common stock		$ 225,000,000
Accelerated share repurchase, price per share		$ 63.41
Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreement (ASR) [Member] \| Weighted Average [Member]
Stock Repurchase Program [Line Items]
Final weighted average per share purchase price during the repurchase period	$ 69.43

Fair Value Measurements - Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis (Detail) - Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Total assets	$ 179	$ 174
Money Market Funds [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Money market funds	36	35
Available-for-sale Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities	49	46
Fixed-Income Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investments	40	39
Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investments	54	54
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Total assets	89	85
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member] \| Available-for-sale Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities	49	46
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member] \| Fixed-Income Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investments	40	39
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Total assets	54	54
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member] \| Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investments	54	54
Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Total assets	36	35
Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) [Member] \| Money Market Funds [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Money market funds	$ 36	$ 35

Fair Value Measurements - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Carrying value of debt	$ 9,042	$ 9,310
Net repayments	277
Reported Value Measurement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Carrying value of debt	9,000	9,300
Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Fair value of debt	$ 9,500	$ 9,700

Variable Interest Entities - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Trust Funds for Final Capping Closure Post Closure or Environmental Remediation Obligations [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Carrying value of trusts for which company is not the sole beneficiary	$ 95	$ 93
Variable interest entities primary beneficiary trust fair value assets	97	95
Investment in Refined Coal Facility and Low Income Housing Properties [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Aggregate investment balance	81	84
Investment in Low-Income Housing Properties [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Equity method investments debt balance	$ 51	$ 57

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements - Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 30	$ 32	$ 104	$ 39
Other current assets	2,193	2,344
Total current assets	2,223	2,376
Property and equipment, net	10,929	10,950
Other assets	7,498	7,533
Total assets	20,650	20,859
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	396	417
Accounts payable and other current liabilities	2,162	2,377
Total current liabilities	2,558	2,794
Long-term debt, less current portion	8,646	8,893
Other liabilities	3,908	3,852
Total liabilities	15,112	15,539
Equity:
Stockholders' equity	5,517	5,297
Noncontrolling interests	21	23
Total equity	5,538	5,320
Total liabilities and equity	20,650	20,859
Eliminations [Member]
Current assets:
Investments in affiliates	(40,953)	(40,255)
Advances to affiliates	(13,389)	(13,000)
Total assets	(54,342)	(53,255)
Current liabilities:
Due to affiliates	(19,164)	(18,777)
Total liabilities	(19,164)	(18,777)
Equity:
Stockholders' equity	(40,953)	(40,255)
Advances to affiliates	5,775	5,777
Total equity	(35,178)	(34,478)
Total liabilities and equity	(54,342)	(53,255)
WM [Member]
Current assets:
Other current assets	4	5
Total current assets	4	5
Investments in affiliates	20,267	19,924
Other assets	14	14
Total assets	20,285	19,943
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	255	269
Accounts payable and other current liabilities	61	81
Total current liabilities	316	350
Long-term debt, less current portion	6,027	6,229
Due to affiliates	13,712	13,350
Other liabilities	12	16
Total liabilities	20,067	19,945
Equity:
Stockholders' equity	5,517	5,297
Advances to affiliates	(5,299)	(5,299)
Total equity	218	(2)
Total liabilities and equity	20,285	19,943
WM Holdings [Member]
Current assets:
Other current assets	5	5
Total current assets	5	5
Investments in affiliates	20,686	20,331
Other assets	36	30
Total assets	20,727	20,366
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and other current liabilities	4	9
Total current liabilities	4	9
Long-term debt, less current portion	304	304
Due to affiliates	153	128
Total liabilities	461	441
Equity:
Stockholders' equity	20,266	19,925
Total equity	20,266	19,925
Total liabilities and equity	20,727	20,366
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	30	32	$ 104	$ 39
Other current assets	2,184	2,334
Total current assets	2,214	2,366
Property and equipment, net	10,929	10,950
Advances to affiliates	13,389	13,000
Other assets	7,448	7,489
Total assets	33,980	33,805
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	141	148
Accounts payable and other current liabilities	2,097	2,287
Total current liabilities	2,238	2,435
Long-term debt, less current portion	2,315	2,360
Due to affiliates	5,299	5,299
Other liabilities	3,896	3,836
Total liabilities	13,748	13,930
Equity:
Stockholders' equity	20,687	20,330
Advances to affiliates	(476)	(478)
Noncontrolling interests	21	23
Total equity	20,232	19,875
Total liabilities and equity	$ 33,980	$ 33,805

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements - Condensed Consolidating Statements of Operations (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Operating revenues	$ 3,440	$ 3,176
Costs and expenses	2,882	2,668
Income from operations	558	508
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net	(92)	(95)
Other, net	(32)	(17)
Total other income (expense)	(124)	(112)
Income before income taxes	434	396
Income tax expense (benefit)	137	140
Consolidated net income	297	256
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)	(2)
Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	298	258
Eliminations [Member]
Other income (expense):
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries, net of tax expense	(689)	(611)
Total other income (expense)	(689)	(611)
Income before income taxes	(689)	(611)
Consolidated net income	(689)	(611)
Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	(689)	(611)
WM [Member]
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net	(74)	(74)
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries, net of tax expense	343	304
Other, net		(1)
Total other income (expense)	269	229
Income before income taxes	269	229
Income tax expense (benefit)	(29)	(29)
Consolidated net income	298	258
Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	298	258
WM Holdings [Member]
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net	(5)	(5)
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries, net of tax expense	346	307
Total other income (expense)	341	302
Income before income taxes	341	302
Income tax expense (benefit)	(2)	(2)
Consolidated net income	343	304
Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	343	304
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Operating revenues	3,440	3,176
Costs and expenses	2,882	2,668
Income from operations	558	508
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net	(13)	(16)
Other, net	(32)	(16)
Total other income (expense)	(45)	(32)
Income before income taxes	513	476
Income tax expense (benefit)	168	171
Consolidated net income	345	305
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)	(2)
Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$ 346	$ 307

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements - Condensed Consolidating Statements of Comprehensive Income (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Comprehensive income	$ 311	$ 325
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)	(2)
Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	312	327
Eliminations [Member]
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Comprehensive income	(689)	(611)
Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	(689)	(611)
WM [Member]
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Comprehensive income	300	260
Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	300	260
WM Holdings [Member]
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Comprehensive income	343	304
Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	343	304
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Comprehensive income	357	372
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)	(2)
Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$ 358	$ 374

Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements - Condensed Consolidating Statements of Cash Flows (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Operating activities	$ 721	$ 732
Investing activities	(340)	(847)
Financing activities	(383)	180
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Intercompany activity	0	0
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(2)	65
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	32	39
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	30	104
Eliminations [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Intercompany activity	0	0
WM [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Intercompany activity	0	0
WM Holdings [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Intercompany activity	0	0
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Operating activities	721	732
Investing activities	(340)	(847)
Financing activities	(383)	180
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Intercompany activity	0	0
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(2)	65
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	32	39
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$ 30	$ 104

New Accounting Standards Pending Adoption - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]
Annual Sales incentive expenses	$ 65

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss - Additional Information (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]
Outstanding derivatives	$ 0