Waste Connections (WCN)

Tash Economics. The Surprising Moat Behind a Dirty Business

Few industries are as unglamorous—and as essential—as waste management. As global trash volumes rise, particularly in high-consumption regions like North America, the business of collecting, processing and disposing of solid waste has become a pillar of urban infrastructure. With over 2 kg of waste generated per person per day, the U.S. leads the world—and someone has to deal with it.

What began as a fragmented, low-margin service has quietly matured into a concentrated and capital-intensive industry. Today, four players—WM, RSG, WCN and GFL—control more than 60% of the U.S. market. The key to profitability lies in vertical integration, local scale, and route density. Owning landfills, optimizing routes, and locking in long-term municipal contracts make all the difference.

In this environment, Waste Connections (WCN) has carved out a unique niche. By focusing on secondary markets and avoiding hyper-competitive urban centers, it operates with greater pricing power, fewer competitors, and higher margins. Around 40% of its revenues come from exclusive contracts, and much of the rest behaves like a natural monopoly.

Unlike other service businesses, waste collection isn’t optional. It’s cheap, indispensable, and increasingly regulated. As environmental standards rise, small operators struggle to keep up—creating fertile ground for further consolidation. Barriers to entry may be low in theory, but in practice, infrastructure and permits are hard to replicate.

In the full report, we break down WCN’s strategic positioning, its approach to capital allocation, and the long-term dynamics that make this “boring” business more compelling than it seems.