Equity Method Investments (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013 Infrastructure Transaction Strategic Venture [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 Infrastructure Transaction Strategic Venture [Member]	Nov. 26, 2013 Infrastructure Transaction Strategic Venture [Member] Y	Jun. 30, 2014 Harsco Infrastructure Segment Infrastructure Transaction Strategic Venture [Member]	Nov. 26, 2013 Harsco Infrastructure Segment Infrastructure Transaction Strategic Venture [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership in Brand									29.00%	29.00%
Equity Method Investments, Fair Value Disclosure							$ 289,700,000
Total Annual Payments to Acquire Joint Venture, Before Tax						22,000,000
Total Annual Payments to Acquire Joint Venture, After Tax						15,000,000
Equity Method Investment, Transfer of Ownership Interest, Percentage						2.50%
Joint Venture, Contingency Threshold, Investee Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization						487,000,000
Joint Venture, Contingency Threshold, Number of Years After Agreement That Would Terminate Company's Quarterly Payments								8
In Event of an IPO, Minimum Co-Venture Interest in Partnership That Could Terminate Company's Quarterly Payments								20.00%
Joint Venture, Liquidation Preference, Value								336,000,000
Unit adjustment liability	106,300,000	100,200,000		100,200,000
Change in fair value to the unit adjustment liability		$ 2,473,000	$ 0	$ 5,019,000	$ 0
Equity Method Investment, Material Effects of Possible Conversions, Exercises or Contingent Issuances	0.029