Net Income Per Share Information (Basic and Diluted Net Income Per Common Share) (Detail) (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
Numerator:
Net income attributable to Waste Connections for basic and diluted earnings per share	$ 62,664	$ 43,967	$ 111,679	$ 85,523
Denominator:
Basic shares outstanding	124,230,572	123,610,969	124,096,619	123,496,519
Dilutive effect of stock options and warrants	110,406	191,872	124,000	196,993
Dilutive effect of restricted stock units	507,373	277,582	560,478	299,799
Diluted shares outstanding	124,848,351	124,080,423	124,781,097	123,993,311