The recent end of annual earnings report season capped off another very busy year for the U.S. solid waste industry's publicly-traded companies. While ongoing recycling volatility was an ever-present factor, that portion of their business has always been smaller, and the overall business of collection and disposal remains highly lucrative (see chart below).
Waste Dive has been tracking it all quarter by quarter, highlighting details that may not make it into the press releases, and following key trends along the way. Below, you'll find 2018 overview analysis and a breakdown of our coverage for all six publicly-traded companies we follow.
2018 in Review
![2018 recycling revenue graph](/user_media/diveimage/Recycling_as_a__of_total_revenue_2.png)
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Waste Management
![Waste Management adjusted operating EBITDA](/user_media/diveimage/Waste_Management_adjusted_operating_EBITDA.png)
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Republic Services
![Republic Services capital to shareholders](/user_media/diveimage/Republic_capital_returned_to_shareholders.png)
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Waste Connections
![Waste Connections acquisition spending](/user_media/diveimage/WCNMA.png)
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Advanced Disposal Services
![Advanced Disposal capital expenditures](/user_media/diveimage/Advanced_capital_expenditures_total_revenue_ywpU94r.png)
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Casella Waste Systems
![Casella Waste Systems normalized free cash flow](/user_media/diveimage/Casella_normalized_free_cash_flow_qZWWK33.png)
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Covanta
![Covanta free cash flow](/user_media/diveimage/Covanta_free_cash_flow_trajectory.png)