Commitments and Contingencies (Narrative) (Detail) $ in Thousands, gal in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) agreement gal	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Total rent expense under operating leases	$ 26,858	$ 27,466	$ 30,893
Amount of surety bonds to secure asset closure and retirement requirements	353,828	342,591
Amount of surety bonds to secure performance under collection contracts and landfill operating agreements	$ 121,687	94,385
Percentage of interest in company that issues financial surety bonds	9.90%
Outstanding amount of financial surety bonds	$ 185,753	179,204
Environmental remediation reserve - current portion	2,328	3,023
Environmental remediation reserve-Non-current portion	$ 12,049	725
Unrecorded unconditional purchase obligation, remaining volume | gal	19.1
Purchase commitment	$ 50,198
Amount of monetary damages County is seeking	$ 2,962
Pre-judgment interest	10.00%
Number of collective bargaining agreements expired or set to expire | agreement	11
Estimated clean up costs		$ 342,000
Rock River Environmental Services Inc [Member]
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Environmental remediation reserve-Non-current portion	$ 11,301
Environmental Remediation Expense
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Estimated period to implement clean-up	P7Y
Required period of monitoring following the clean-up	10 years
Minimum [Member]
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Range for non-cancelable operating leases	1 year
Maximum [Member]
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Range for non-cancelable operating leases	45 years