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[[Image:Green wm trash container 630px.jpg|left|300px]][[Waste Management]], Inc. (known as '''Waste Management''' or '''WM''') is a publicly-traded ([https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AWM&ei=A2kKUuCVGMabrAHUnQE NYSE:WM]) for-profit waste management company headquartered in Houston, Texas. It is the largest waste collection corporation in North America. It is in the business of waste collection and transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and waste disposal for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers in North America.<ref name="10K2012"/> In the United States, waste management services have traditionally been provided by municipalities and public employees,<ref>Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court, [http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-1345.pdf Majority Opinion in re: UNITED HAULERS ASSOCIATION, INC., ET AL. v. ONEIDA-HERKIMER SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY ET AL.], decision, April 30, 2007, p. 1.</ref> but starting in the 1980's the privatization of this sector accelerated. According to a 2007 survey of local governments, some 50 percent of solid waste management is now provided by major for-profit firms like Waste Management.<ref>International City/County Management Association, [http://icma.org/Documents/Document/Document/100022 Profile of Local Government Service Delivery Choices], survey, 2007.</ref> WM has been a driving force in the privatization of these services. WM workers are paid significantly less than their public sector counterparts.<ref>Kristen Mack, [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-30/news/ct-met-rahm-emanuel-managed-competition-20110930_1_mayor-rahm-emanuel-recycling-crews-worker-salaries Emanuel's 'managed competition' push goes into full swing on recycling pickups], ''Chicago Tribune'', September 30, 2011.</ref> Deaths in this dangerous industry are higher among workers at for-profit companies than among public sector workers.<ref name="NIOSH"/><ref>U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, [http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cftb0270.pdf Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: Fatal occupational injuries to private sector wage and salary workers, government workers, and self-employed workers by industry, All U.S., 2012 - table], federal government agency report table, August 22, 2013.</ref>

In its 2012 fiscal year, WM took in $13.65 billion in total revenues, with net profits of $1.3 billion before taxes and $860 million after taxes. As of December 2012, WM employs approximately 43,500 people.<ref name="10K2012">Waste Management, [http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/3141/4738/ Annual Report/Form 10-K], SEC filing, February 14, 2013.</ref>