Acquisitions and Divestitures (Detail) $ in Millions			3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Jan. 08, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 26, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) item	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) item	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) item
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of business acquired | item											24	30	27
Consideration, net of cash acquired, for business acquisitions											$ 205	$ 604	$ 646
Business acquisitions closed during the year, cash payments											183	581	537
Other consideration											22	23
Contingent consideration paid for acquisitions closed in previous year											3	4	4
Purchase price holdbacks paid			$ 14				$ 26				14	26	13
Purchase price holdbacks paid for acquisitions closed in current year			13				16				13	16
Allocation of consideration to property and equipment			127				115				127	115	243
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets			46				212				46	212	145
Allocation of consideration to goodwill			39				280				39	280	325
Contingent consideration outstanding			7				37				7	37
Estimated fair value of contingent liability													96
Operating revenues			3,652	$ 3,716	$ 3,677	$ 3,440	3,460	$ 3,548	$ 3,425	$ 3,176	14,485	13,609	12,961
Tax deductible, goodwill													166
Non tax deductible, goodwill													159
Purchase price holdbacks													13
Aggregate sales prices for divestitures of operations											62	2	79
Gain (loss) on sale of assets											38	(9)	7
Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated fair value of contingent liability													126
Customer and Supplier Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets			39				185				39	185	131
Covenants not-to-compete [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets			7				23				7	23	8
Trade Name [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets							4					4	$ 6
Southern Waste Systems [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration, net of cash acquired, for business acquisitions	$ 525
Allocation of consideration to property and equipment	93
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets	182
Allocation of consideration to goodwill	250
Southern Waste Systems [Member] | Covenants not-to-compete [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets	18
Southern Waste Systems [Member] | Trade Name [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets	$ 4
Deffenbaugh Disposal, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration, net of cash acquired, for business acquisitions		$ 400
Allocation of consideration to property and equipment		207
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets		100
Allocation of consideration to goodwill		159
Allocation of consideration to other assets		50
Allocation of consideration to cash acquired		15
Allocation of consideration to liabilities		101
Deffenbaugh Disposal, Inc. [Member] | Trade Name [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Allocation of consideration to other intangible assets		$ 6
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Credit Facility, aggregate capacity			$ 2,250				$ 2,250				$ 2,250	$ 2,250