Acquisitions are a fact of life for the waste and recycling industry, with major companies consolidating and new ones popping up on a regular basis around the country. M&A activity has been particularly heightened in recent years, spurred in part by corporate tax cuts passed in 2017, but 2020 ended up being especially active on multiple fronts.
Waste Management's protracted efforts to buy Advanced Disposal Services culminated in the industry's largest deal in more than a decade. GFL Environmental's resulting acquisition of divestiture assets from that transaction, along with the purchase of WCA Waste and multiple others, marked new heights in the Canadian company's expansion.
Republic Services, Waste Connections, Casella Waste Systems and others also remained active; while private equity-backed players such as Wheelabrator also stepped up their activity.
Catch up on some of the year's top headlines, seen below in chronological order, and stay in touch with tips on any future transactions.
