DOCUMENT AND ENTITY INFORMATION Document	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Nov. 05, 2012
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	CLEAN HARBORS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000822818
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		53,426,174