Basis of Presentation and Summary	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Basis of Presentation and Summary [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation and Summary	1.BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements relate to Waste Connections, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 and 2019. In the opinion of management, the accompanying balance sheets and related interim statements of net income, comprehensive income (loss), cash flows and equity include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring items, necessary for their fair statement in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Preparing financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Examples include accounting for landfills, self-insurance accruals, income taxes, allocation of acquisition purchase price, contingent consideration accruals and asset impairments. An additional area that involves estimation is when the Company estimates the amount of potential exposure it may have with respect to litigation, claims and assessments in accordance with the accounting guidance on contingencies. Actual results for all estimates could differ materially from the estimates and assumptions that the Company uses in the preparation of its condensed consolidated financial statements. The challenges posed by the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) on the global economy persisted through the third quarter of 2020 and continue to impact the demand for the Company’s services to varying degrees and in varying ways across the U.S. and Canada and across a variety of lines of business, including commercial collection and solid waste and exploration and production (“E&P”) waste disposal. In response to COVID-19, national and local governments around the world have instituted certain measures, including travel bans, prohibitions on group events and gatherings, shutdowns of certain businesses, curfews, shelter-in-place orders and recommendations to practice social distancing. In some markets where a portion of these measures have been curtailed, the impact to demand for the Company’s services has decreased as activity levels have increased. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows in future periods will depend largely on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak in the U.S. and Canada, its severity, the actions to contain the novel coronavirus or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

Basis of Presentation and Summary

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Basis of Presentation and Summary [Abstract]

1.BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements relate to Waste Connections, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 and 2019. In the opinion of management, the accompanying balance sheets and related interim statements of net income, comprehensive income (loss), cash flows and equity include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring items, necessary for their fair statement in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Preparing financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Examples include accounting for landfills, self-insurance accruals, income taxes, allocation of acquisition purchase price, contingent consideration accruals and asset impairments. An additional area that involves estimation is when the Company estimates the amount of potential exposure it may have with respect to litigation, claims and assessments in accordance with the accounting guidance on contingencies. Actual results for all estimates could differ materially from the estimates and assumptions that the Company uses in the preparation of its condensed consolidated financial statements.

The challenges posed by the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) on the global economy persisted through the third quarter of 2020 and continue to impact the demand for the Company’s services to varying degrees and in varying ways across the U.S. and Canada and across a variety of lines of business, including commercial collection and solid waste and exploration and production (“E&P”) waste disposal. In response to COVID-19, national and local governments around the world have instituted certain measures, including travel bans, prohibitions on group events and gatherings, shutdowns of certain businesses, curfews, shelter-in-place orders and recommendations to practice social distancing. In some markets where a portion of these measures have been curtailed, the impact to demand for the Company’s services has decreased as activity levels have increased. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows in future periods will depend largely on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak in the U.S. and Canada, its severity, the actions to contain the novel coronavirus or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time.

Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.