Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Basis of Presentation	Sep. 30, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation Harsco Corporation (the "Company") has prepared these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all information and disclosure required by U.S. GAAP for annual financial statements. The December 31, 2018 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet information contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q was derived from the 2018 audited consolidated financial statements. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (all of which are of a normal recurring nature) that are necessary for a fair statement are reflected in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Additionally, in May 2019, the former Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment was rebranded as the Harsco Environmental Segment. Acquisition of Clean Earth On June 28, 2019, the Company completed the previously announced acquisition of CEHI Acquisition Corporation and Subsidiaries ("Clean Earth"), a leader in specialty waste processing and beneficial reuse solutions for hazardous wastes, contaminated materials and dredged volumes from Compass Diversified Holdings for $628 million in cash. See Note 3, Acquisitions and Dispositions, for additional information. Segment Reporting The Company reports information about operating segments using the "management approach," which is based on the way management organizes and reports the segments within the enterprise for making operating decisions and assessing performance. The Company's reportable segments are identified based upon differences in products, services and markets served. The Company has determined that the operations of Clean Earth represent a separate reportable segment. Discontinued Operations On July 1, 2019, the Company completed the previously announced sale of the Harsco Industrial Air-X-Changers business ("AXC") for $600 million in cash. In addition, during May 2019, the Company announced the intent to divest the remainder of the businesses in the Harsco Industrial Segment, Harsco Industrial IKG ("IKG") and Harsco Industrial Patterson-Kelley ("PK"). The sale of the remaining businesses is expected to occur within one year of the announcement date. Additionally, these disposals represent a strategic shift and accelerate the transformation of the Company's portfolio of businesses into a leading provider of environmental solutions and services. As a result of these disposals (i) the carrying value of the remaining assets and liabilities of the Harsco Industrial Segment have been classified as Assets held-for-sale and Liabilities of assets held-for-sale on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets; (ii) the operating results of the Harsco Industrial Segment, costs directly related to the disposals, an allocation of interest expense associated with mandatory debt repayments required as a result of the disposals and the write-off of deferred financing costs resulting from the mandatory repayment have been reflected in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as discontinued operations for all periods presented; and (iii) all disclosures have been updated to reflect these changes. See Note 3, Acquisitions and Dispositions, for additional information. Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year amounts to conform with current year classifications.