Condensed Consolidated Statements of Net Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 1,239,968	$ 1,175,569	$ 2,380,099	$ 2,266,835
Operating expenses:
Cost of operations	725,022	685,900	1,384,825	1,329,281
Selling, general and administrative	128,261	126,350	259,568	255,400
Depreciation	142,450	132,827	275,634	258,067
Amortization of intangibles	26,474	24,762	52,573	50,272
Impairments and other operating items	7,073	(1,180)	8,104	140,501
Operating income	210,688	206,910	399,395	233,314
Interest expense	(32,426)	(31,160)	(64,796)	(60,291)
Interest income	1,056	1,026	2,210	1,474
Other income, net	2,031	834	1,644	1,852
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss)	30	(1,048)	(190)	(1,638)
Income before income tax provision	181,379	176,562	338,263	174,711
Income tax provision	(42,565)	(52,675)	(74,417)	(35,804)
Net income	138,814	123,887	263,846	138,907
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(132)	(231)	(295)	(377)
Net income attributable to Waste Connections	$ 138,682	$ 123,656	$ 263,551	$ 138,530
Earnings per common share attributable to Waste Connections' common stockholders:
Basic	$ 0.53	$ 0.47	$ 1.00	$ 0.53
Diluted	$ 0.52	$ 0.47	$ 1.00	$ 0.52
Shares used in the per share calculations:
Basic	263,691,172	263,387,338	263,757,179	263,225,541
Diluted	264,332,029	264,109,594	264,452,785	264,007,307
Cash dividends per common share	$ 0.14	$ 0.12	$ 0.28	$ 0.24