Condensed Consolidated Statements of Net Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 524,693	$ 489,381	$ 1,006,402	$ 939,272
Operating expenses:
Cost of operations	286,950	268,484	550,011	520,447
Selling, general and administrative	56,526	52,903	112,172	106,154
Depreciation	57,105	54,766	112,922	106,414
Amortization of intangibles	6,720	6,211	13,456	12,650
Loss (gain) on disposal of assets	(1,324)	3,445	(1,465)	3,122
Loss on prior corporate office lease		10,498		10,498
Operating income	118,716	93,074	219,306	179,987
Interest expense	(15,940)	(18,928)	(32,851)	(37,940)
Other income (expense), net	661	(1,706)	137	(965)
Income before income tax provision	103,437	72,440	186,592	141,082
Income tax provision	(40,537)	(28,445)	(74,470)	(55,408)
Net income	62,900	43,995	112,122	85,674
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(236)	(28)	(443)	(151)
Net income attributable to Waste Connections	$ 62,664	$ 43,967	$ 111,679	$ 85,523
Earnings per common share attributable to Waste Connections' common stockholders:
Basic	$ 0.50	$ 0.36	$ 0.90	$ 0.69
Diluted	$ 0.50	$ 0.35	$ 0.89	$ 0.69
Shares used in the per share calculations:
Basic	124,230,572	123,610,969	124,096,619	123,496,519
Diluted	124,848,351	124,080,423	124,781,097	123,993,311
Cash dividends per common share	$ 0.115	$ 0.10	$ 0.23	$ 0.20