CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 892,399	$ 874,181
Costs and Expenses:
Cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation shown below)	500,830	483,751
Depreciation - cost of revenues	22,907	23,850
Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A” - exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)	218,841	201,093
Depreciation – SG&A	6,183	6,290
Intangible amortization – SG&A	29,089	18,274
Total Costs and Expenses	777,850	733,258
Income from Operations	114,549	140,923
Other Income (Expense):
Interest income	74	21
Interest expense	(23,374)	(24,062)
Other expense, net	(1,544)	(1,251)
Total Other Expense	(24,844)	(25,292)
Income Before Income Taxes	89,705	115,631
Income tax expense	31,148	38,036
Net Income	58,557	77,595
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	368	809
Net Income Attributable to Stericycle, Inc.	58,189	76,786
Mandatory convertible preferred stock dividend	9,364	10,106
Gain on repurchase of preferred stock	(4,563)	0
Net Income Attributable to Stericycle, Inc. Common Shareholders	$ 53,388	$ 66,680
Earnings Per Common Share Attributable to Stericycle, Inc. Common Shareholders:
Basic	$ 0.63	$ 0.79
Diluted	$ 0.62	$ 0.78
Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding:
Basic	85,220,228	84,705,000
Diluted	85,572,409	85,845,501