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Basis of Presentation (Policies)
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023
Basis of Presentation  
Basis of Presentation

The financial statements presented in this report represent the consolidation of Waste Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation; its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries; and certain variable interest entities for which Waste Management, Inc. or its subsidiaries are the primary beneficiaries as described in Note 13. Waste Management, Inc. is a holding company and all operations are conducted by its subsidiaries. When the terms “the Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” are used in this document, those terms refer to Waste Management, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities. When we use the term “WMI,” we are referring only to Waste Management, Inc., the parent holding company.

We are North America’s leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, providing services throughout the United States (“U.S.”) and Canada. We partner with our customers and the communities we serve to manage and reduce waste at each stage from collection to disposal, while recovering valuable resources and creating clean, renewable energy. Our “Solid Waste” business is operated and managed locally by our subsidiaries that focus on distinct geographic areas and provide collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling and resource recovery services. Through our subsidiaries, including our Waste Management Renewable Energy (“WM Renewable Energy”) business, we are also a leading developer, operator and owner of landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the U.S. and Canada that produce renewable electricity and renewable natural gas, which is a significant source of fuel that we allocate to our natural gas fleet.

Our senior management evaluates, oversees and manages the financial performance of our Solid Waste operations through two operating segments. Our East Tier primarily consists of geographic areas located in the Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes region and substantially all of Canada. Our West Tier primarily includes geographic areas located in the Western U.S., including the upper Midwest region, and British Columbia, Canada. Each of our Solid Waste operating segments provides integrated environmental services, including collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal. The East and West Tiers are presented in this report and constitute our existing Solid Waste business. We also provide additional services that are not managed through our Solid Waste business, which are presented in this report as “Other.” Additional information related to our segments is included in Note 7.

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of June 30, 2023 and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 are unaudited. In the opinion of management, these financial statements include all adjustments, which, unless otherwise disclosed, are of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows, and changes in equity for the periods presented. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year. The financial statements presented herein should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

In preparing our financial statements, we make numerous estimates and assumptions that affect the accounting for and recognition and disclosure of assets, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses. We must make these estimates and assumptions because certain information that we use is dependent on future events, cannot be calculated with precision from available data or simply cannot be calculated. In some cases, these estimates are difficult to determine, and we must exercise significant judgment. In preparing our financial statements, the most difficult, subjective and complex estimates and the assumptions that present the greatest amount of uncertainty relate to our accounting for landfills, environmental remediation liabilities, long-lived asset impairments, intangible asset impairments and the fair value of assets and liabilities acquired in business combinations. Actual results could differ materially from the estimates and assumptions that we use in the preparation of our financial statements.
Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

We generally recognize revenue as services are performed or products are delivered. For example, revenue typically is recognized as waste is collected, tons are received at our landfills or transfer stations, or recycling commodities are collected or delivered as product. We bill for certain services prior to performance. Such services include, among others, certain commercial and residential contracts, and equipment rentals. These advanced billings are included in deferred revenues and recognized as revenue in the period service is provided. Substantially all our deferred revenues during the reported periods are realized as revenues within one to three months, when the related services are performed.

Contract Acquisition Costs

Our incremental direct costs of obtaining a contract, which consist primarily of sales incentives, are generally deferred and amortized to selling, general and administrative expense over the estimated life of the relevant customer relationship, ranging from five to 13 years. Contract acquisition costs that are paid to the customer are deferred and amortized as a reduction in revenue over the contract life. Our contract acquisition costs are classified as current or noncurrent based on the timing of when we expect to recognize amortization and are included in other assets in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we had $202 million and $192 million, respectively, of deferred contract costs, of which $142 million and $137 million, respectively, was related to deferred sales incentives.

Leases

Leases

Amounts for our operating lease right-of-use assets are recorded in long-term other assets and the current and long-term portion of our operating lease liabilities are reflected in accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities, respectively, in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Amounts for our financing leases are recorded in property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and depletion, and current or long-term debt in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, as appropriate.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject us to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, investments held within restricted funds, and accounts receivable. We make efforts to control our exposure to credit risk associated with these instruments by (i) placing our assets and other financial interests with a diverse group of credit-worthy financial institutions; (ii) holding high-quality financial instruments while limiting investments in any one instrument and (iii) maintaining strict policies over credit extension that include credit evaluations, credit limits and monitoring procedures, although generally we do not have collateral requirements for credit extensions. We also control our exposure associated with trade receivables by discontinuing service, to the extent allowable, to non-paying customers. However, our overall credit risk associated with trade receivables is limited due to the large number and diversity of customers we serve.
Reclassifications

Reclassifications

When necessary, reclassifications have been made to our prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation and are not material to our consolidated financial statements.