Commitments and Contingencies (Detail)	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2011 item	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) site item	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) site item	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Approximate number of homeowners' properties adjacent to or near certain of our landfills with agreements guaranteeing market value | item		850	850
Number of landfills adjacent to or near homeowners' properties with agreements guaranteeing market value | item		22	22
Environmental remediation reasonably possible additional losses high estimate		$ 140,000,000	$ 140,000,000
Environmental remediation liabilities		$ 250,000,000	$ 250,000,000
Number of sites listed on the EPA's NPL for which we have been notified we are a PRP | site		75	75
Number of owned sites listed on the EPA's NPL for which we have been notified we are a PRP | site		15	15
Number of non-owned sites listed on the EPA's NPL for which we have been notified we are a PRP | site		60	60
Dollar threshold for environmental matters requiring disclosure under item 103 of the SEC's Regulation S-K		$ 100,000	$ 100,000
Approximate percentage of workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements		20.00%	20.00%
Multiemployer pension withdrawal obligation		$ 11,000,000	$ 11,000,000
Expected time of completion of IRS audits			27 months
San Jacinto Waste Pits [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Revisions in estimate		9,000,000	$ 9,000,000	$ 42,000,000	$ 44,000,000
Environmental remediation liabilities		54,000,000	54,000,000		46,000,000
Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of major rainfalls | item	2
Wheelabrator [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Maximum future payments regarding guarantees of unconsolidated entities financial obligations		96,000,000	96,000,000		96,000,000
Operational and financial performance obligations, net liability		3,000,000	3,000,000		11,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Credit Facility, aggregate capacity		$ 2,250,000,000	$ 2,250,000,000		$ 2,250,000,000