CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF (LOSS) INCOME - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 3,308.9	$ 3,485.9	$ 3,580.7
Cost of revenues	2,134.4	2,109.9	2,118.2
Gross profit	1,174.5	1,376.0	1,462.5
Selling, general and administrative expenses	1,055.1	1,165.6	1,395.6
Goodwill impairment	228.3	358.7	65.0
Divestiture losses, net of gains	103.0	12.8	9.5
(Loss) income from operations	(211.9)	(161.1)	(7.6)
Interest expense, net	(118.3)	(106.0)	(93.7)
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	(23.1)
Other expense, net	(9.5)	(8.3)	(6.6)
Loss before income taxes	(362.8)	(275.4)	(107.9)
Income tax benefit	16.8	29.8	150.9
Net (loss) income	(346.0)	(245.6)	43.0
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(0.8)	0.9	(0.6)
Net (loss) income attributable to Stericycle, Inc.	(346.8)	(244.7)	42.4
Mandatory convertible preferred stock dividend		(25.5)	(36.3)
Gain on repurchase of preferred stock		16.9	17.3
Net (loss) income attributable to Stericycle, Inc. common shareholders	$ (346.8)	$ (253.3)	$ 23.4
(Loss) Earnings per common share attributable to Stericycle, Inc. common shareholders:
Basic	$ (3.81)	$ (2.91)	$ 0.27
Diluted	$ (3.81)	$ (2.91)	$ 0.27
Weighted average number of common shares Outstanding:
Basic	91.0	87.1	85.3
Diluted	91.0	87.1	85.6