Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 118,715	$ 121,113	$ 416,491	$ 405,307
Cost of sales	106,672	107,254	382,917	378,134
Gross profit	12,043	13,859	33,574	27,173
General and administrative expenses	4,853	14,096	27,246	45,481
Impairment expense	6,399	0	6,399	0
Operating income (loss)	791	(237)	(71)	(18,308)
Interest expense, net	(4,331)	(3,833)	(12,787)	(12,987)
Loss on extinguishment of debt	0	0	(8,603)	0
Income from equity method investment	625	667	1,247	1,884
Loss before income taxes	(2,915)	(3,403)	(20,214)	(29,411)
Income tax expense (benefit)	608	(1,100)	608	(7,489)
Net loss	(3,523)	(2,303)	(20,822)	(21,922)
Less income attributable to non-controlling interest	693	1,010	1,180	2,236
Net loss attributable to Charah Solutions, Inc.	(4,216)	(3,313)	(22,002)	(24,158)
Deemed and imputed dividends on Series A Preferred Stock	(147)	0	(314)	0
Series A Preferred Stock dividends	(877)	0	(1,846)	0
Net loss attributable to common stockholders	$ (5,240)	$ (3,313)	$ (24,162)	$ (24,158)
Loss per common share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ (0.17)	$ (0.11)	$ (0.81)	$ (0.82)
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ (0.17)	$ (0.11)	$ (0.81)	$ (0.82)
Weighted-average shares outstanding used in loss per common share:
Basic (in shares)	29,986	29,605	29,853	29,452
Diluted (in shares)	29,986	29,605	29,853	29,452