Acquisitions (Details Textual) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	6 Months Ended				3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012 Acquisition Business	Jun. 30, 2011 Business	Jun. 30, 2012 Alaska Waste [Member]	Mar. 01, 2012 Alaska Waste [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Hudson Valley Waste Holding [Member] Market CollectionOperation RecyclingFacility TransferStation	Jun. 30, 2011 Russell Sweepers LLC [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition of interest				100.00%	100.00%	50.00%
Business combination percentage of noncontrolling interest						50.00%
Revenue from wholly owned subsidiary					$ 31,655
Total pre-tax earnings from wholly owned subsidiary					3,063
Amount paid for purchased operations	150,222	215,962		133,402	299,000
Additional consideration in current dollars			4,000
Contingent consideration	602		602
Number of collection operations acquired					6
Number of transfer stations acquired					3
Number of recycling facilities acquired					1
Operations across number of markets					6
Acquisitions (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of individual businesses acquired that are not specifically described	4	5
Goodwill expected to be deductible for tax purposes	65,709	11,947
Fair value of acquired working capital is provisional	3
Trade receivables acquired in business combination gross contractual amount	7,093	9,461
Trade receivables acquired In business combination expected to be uncollectible amount	20	660
Payment of contingent consideration gross	3,849
Acquisition-related costs	$ 2,159	$ 1,094