Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011		Sep. 30, 2011		Jun. 30, 2011		Mar. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010		Sep. 30, 2010		Jun. 30, 2010		Mar. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009
Numerator:
Numerator for basic earnings per share net income attributable to Stericycle, Inc.	$ 64,288		$ 59,247		$ 55,542		$ 55,674		$ 49,980		$ 56,686		$ 53,094		$ 48,119		$ 234,751		$ 207,879		$ 175,691
Denominator:
Denominator for basic earnings per share-weighted average shares																	85,467,421		85,057,775		84,769,912
Effect of diluted securities:
Employee stock options																	1,900,291		1,904,876		1,974,091
Denominator for diluted earnings per share-adjusted weighted average shares and after assumed exercises																	87,367,712		86,962,651		86,744,003
Earnings per share-Basic	$ 0.76	[1]	$ 0.69	[1]	$ 0.65	[1]	$ 0.65	[1]	$ 0.59	[1]	$ 0.66	[1]	$ 0.63	[1]	$ 0.57	[1]	$ 2.75	[1]	$ 2.44	[1]	$ 2.07
Earnings per share-Diluted	$ 0.74	[1]	$ 0.68	[1]	$ 0.63	[1]	$ 0.64	[1]	$ 0.57	[1]	$ 0.65	[1]	$ 0.61	[1]	$ 0.56	[1]	$ 2.69	[1]	$ 2.39	[1]	$ 2.03

[1] EPS calculated on a quarterly basis, and, as such, the amounts may not total the calculated full-year EPS.