The most recent updates to this tracker are:
- An affiliate of private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Co. partnered with management to acquire Tennessee-based Atomic Transport, a provider of long-haul waste transport and transfer station management services. Atomic operates in 30 locations across 19 states. The company was founded in 2015 and received a minority investment from private equity firm Comvest Partners in 2021.
- Sage Sustainable Electronics acquired Wisconsin-based Cascade Asset Management, a fellow provider of IT asset disposition services. Sage, a portfolio company of Closed Loop Partners, is now one of the largest ITAD service providers in the U.S.
- Private equity-backed Waste Eliminator acquired Oconee Resources, which owns an MSW and C&D transfer station in South Carolina. This is Waste Eliminator's eighth deal since it was acquired by Allied Industrial Partners in 2021, and third deal in 2025.
- Republic Services acquired Shamrock Environmental, an industrial waste and wastewater treatment services provider, from private equity firm CenterOak Partners. North Carolina-based Shamrock operates six wastewater treatment facilities, multiple solidification sites and a fleet of tankers and vacuum trucks across an estimated 20 states. The company has approximately 300 employees.
The waste and recycling industry's M&A activity has neared historic levels in recent years.
Collective M&A spending by the U.S. solid waste industry's publicly traded companies approached an estimated $4.2 billion in 2023 and $6.3 billion in 2022. This total does not include deals involving companies with private equity or infrastructure fund backing, which have become increasingly active in recent years.
This tracker’s lists for 2021-2023 focused on deals executed by companies that primarily provide municipal solid waste or recycling services in the United States. As of 2024, our list also includes environmental services transactions and all deals in Canada. Transactions involving significant investments, including minority stakes, may also be included.
We list acquirers or lead investors in alphabetical order by their parent company or common operating name, which may differ from the specific legal entities involved in the acquisitions. Please send feedback or tips to waste.dive.editors@industrydive.com.
