Condensed Consolidated Statements of Net Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 514,680	$ 506,100
Operating expenses:
Cost of operations	287,192	281,123
Selling, general and administrative	67,682	58,144
Depreciation	60,897	57,307
Amortization of intangibles	7,694	6,999
Other operating items	236	662
Operating income	90,979	101,865
Interest expense	(17,184)	(15,697)
Other income (expense), net	222	(220)
Income before income tax provision	74,017	85,948
Income tax provision	(29,000)	(33,867)
Net income	45,017	52,081
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(175)	(257)
Net income attributable to Waste Connections	$ 44,842	$ 51,824
Earnings (loss) per common share attributable to Waste Connections' common stockholders:
Basic	$ 0.37	$ 0.42
Diluted	$ 0.36	$ 0.42
Shares used in the per share calculations:
Basic	122,778,290	124,008,687
Diluted	123,450,584	124,367,668
Cash dividends per common share	$ 0.145	$ 0.13