Basis of Presentation and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Basis of Presentation and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]

Management's Estimates and Assumptions

In preparing our financial statements, we include numerous estimates and assumptions that affect the accounting, recognition and disclosure of assets, liabilities, stockholders’ equity, revenue and expenses. We must make these estimates and assumptions because certain information that we use is dependent on future events, cannot be calculated with a high degree of precision from data available or simply cannot be readily calculated based on generally accepted methodologies. In some cases, these estimates are particularly difficult to determine and we must exercise significant judgment. In preparing our financial statements, the most difficult, subjective and complex estimates and assumptions that deal with the greatest amount of uncertainty relate to our accounting for our long-lived assets, landfill development costs, final capping, closure and post-closure costs and the recoverability of goodwill; our valuation allowances for accounts receivable and deferred tax assets; our liabilities for potential litigation, claims and assessments; and our liabilities for environmental remediation, employee benefit plans, stock-based compensation, deferred taxes, uncertain tax positions and self-insurance. Each of these items is discussed in more detail in our description of our significant accounting policies in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. Our actual results may differ significantly from our estimates.

Goodwill Impairment Test

In December 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued authoritative guidance which modifies the requirements of Step 1 of the goodwill impairment test for reporting units with zero or negative carrying amounts. We adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2011, and it did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Other Comprehensive Income

In June 2011, the FASB issued a new accounting standard on the presentation of comprehensive income. The new standard requires the presentation of comprehensive income, the components of net income and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. The new standard also requires presentation of adjustments for items that are reclassified from other comprehensive income to net income in the statement where the components of net income and the components of other comprehensive income are presented. We will adopt this new presentation standard as of the beginning of 2012. The adoption of this standard will only impact the presentation of our financial statements and will not impact our consolidated financial position or results of operations.