Independent profile — not affiliated with Waste Management
Waste Management
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) is a Houston holding company whose local subsidiaries run residential and commercial trash, recycling and disposal service, and its 2025 10-K reports the Stericycle acquisition of November 4, 2024. Below: how WM's own pages say to cancel or dispute a bill, the Energy Surcharge terms, BBB and Trustpilot figures as displayed on October 18, 2026, the lawsuits and the May 2026 Stericycle Justice Department resolution the company discloses, and 169 archive complaints from 2002-2016.
Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints
USAComplaints currently maintains 169 historical complaints about Waste Management, published between 2003 and 2016. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.
- Deceptive Lien/Business Practice
- Crew idles behind house and leaves cans by garage
- Extra fees for special trip and broken chair pickup
- Four missed trash pickups in a month and service cutoff
- Billed two months after cancelling service
- Annual cost over $500 for garage-side pickup
- Account cancelled without notice and personal cans taken
- Three-year contract rolled over without notice
- Contract terms can be rewritten by the company
- Rollover contract and bill drop from $307 to $115
- Auto-renewal contract and over $800 demanded to cancel
- Billed 13 times in 12 months through 28-day cycle
- Recycling bin knocked over and left in yard
- Automatic renewal policy and rip-off warning
- Refund for one month of service delayed for weeks
- Dumpster cost nearly $1000 with wrong phone numbers
- Billed for demolished house vacated four years ago
- Price increase on every invoice and $25 container pickup fee
- Idling truck parked outside bedroom window
- Green waste bin not collected despite repeated calls
Complaint Themes
Independent Sources
Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.
Contacts
- Corporate and customer website: https://www.wm.com/
- Customer Support (WM): https://www.wm.com/us/en/support
- How to cancel service (WM article): https://www.wm.com/us/en/support/faqs/service-questions/how-do-i-cancel-my-service
- Energy Surcharge terms: https://www.wm.com/us/en/terms/energy-surcharge
- Corporate headquarters (SEC filing): 713-512-6200 1 complaint mentions this number
- BBB-listed phone: (800) 796-9696 1 complaint mentions this number
Locations
| Type | Address |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 800 Capitol Street, Suite 3000 Houston TX 77002 |
Waste Management (WM) billing, contract and pickup problems: what to do (checked October 18, 2026)
Pages opened on October 18, 2026: the WM Customer Support page, the WM cancellation article, the WM Energy Surcharge page, the WM Commercial and Residential terms and the WM Disputes page, Form 10-K for 2025, BBB and Trustpilot.
1. Start with WM's own channel. The Customer Support page (wm.com/us/en/support) lists 'Billing, Charges and Payment', 'Change, Add, Pause or Cancel Services', 'Check Pickup/Delivery Status' and says to 'get in touch with an agent'; its articles end with a 'Request Help' button. The pages opened did not show a customer phone number. BBB lists (800) 796-9696 for the Houston profile; that number comes from BBB, not from a WM page.
2. Cancelling. WM's article says: 'Franchise Communities: Your services can only be cancelled if you are moving from your current location'; 'Commercial Customers: If your contract is still active, early termination charges may apply'; 'All Other Residential Customers: Scroll down to the "Still Need Help" section and select Request Help to cancel your service.' For one-time orders it says online cancellation works only if the service was requested online and 'You cannot cancel orders within 24 business hours of the scheduled service.' The article adds that it 'may be inapplicable to customers who receive service pursuant to a WM agreement with a municipality, association or other entity'.
3. Read the agreement and the invoice. Many archive complaints on this page concern automatic renewal and notice windows in commercial and dumpster agreements, so check the term, renewal and cancellation-notice clauses in your own agreement. WM's Energy Surcharge page says the surcharge 'is applied to all monthly or periodic invoice charges before taxes' and that it replaced the former Fuel Surcharge on invoices generated from April 2023.
3a. Commercial and roll-off agreements. WM's Commercial and Roll-Off Terms & Conditions say the term 'shall automatically renew for an additional Renewal Term' unless, for a renewal term of twelve months or more, either party gives written notice of termination 'at least ninety (90) days, but not more than one hundred eighty (180) days' before the term ends (thirty days for renewal terms shorter than twelve months), and that 'Notice of termination received at any other time will be considered ineffective'. Section 7 provides that if six or more months of the contract term remain, the customer 'shall pay the average of its six (6) monthly Charges immediately prior to default or termination' multiplied by six, with a different formula when fewer than six months remain. The page itself says a signed agreement can differ, so read your own Service Summary.
3b. Residential subscription terms. WM's Residential Subscription Terms & Conditions say WM 'may increase the price for subscription residential collection services from billing period to billing period, and Customers may terminate or choose to not renew services after each billing period without penalty'. They also provide a late fee with 'a minimum monthly late fee of five dollars ($5.00)' and say 'An Administrative Charge per invoice will be assessed and can be removed by enrolling in paperless statements and automated payments, unless prohibited by law'.
3c. Disputes and arbitration. WM's Disputes page says that, for commercial agreements, claims are resolved by 'mandatory binding arbitration' with a class action waiver, except listed excluded claims, which include the company's claims against a customer 'for collection or payment of Charges'. The residential terms contain a similar arbitration and class-action waiver, a '30 Day Right to Opt Out' by written notice sent within thirty days of enrolling (the notice address is given in Section 10(I) of those terms), and require a written Claim Notice and 'not less than 30 days' to resolve a claim before a lawsuit or arbitration. Read the version in your own agreement.
3d. Energy Surcharge scope. The Energy Surcharge page says WM seeks to recover fuel costs 'from only those customers subject to an energy surcharge and not from exempt or non-paying customers', and that recycling-processing customers of WM Recycling Services receive a separate Fuel Surcharge and Environmental Charge instead of the Energy Surcharge.
4. Keep a record. Note dates, call reference numbers and photos of missed pickups, and send disputes in writing through the account. If the account is with a city or homeowners' association contract, the municipality or association is a second place to raise the problem. The City and County of Denver's Trash, Recycle & Compost page, for example, describes city-run solid-waste services with billing through Denver Utilities Online, so a Denver resident should check whether the bill comes from the City or from a private hauler. A state attorney general's consumer protection office or the local BBB can also take a complaint; complaints there are allegations, not findings.
Stericycle: May 2026 Department of Justice resolution
WM's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 says: 'In May 2026, Stericycle entered into certain settlement agreements, including a one-year deferred prosecution agreement, with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving the criminal and civil investigations', that Stericycle 'has made the agreed-upon penalty and settlement payments' and that it is subject to continuing compliance, reporting and cooperation obligations during the agreement's term. The investigations were limited to Stericycle's historical operation and ownership of its ESOL Retail Controlled Substances Business from 2015 through 2020; Stericycle became part of WM on November 4, 2024.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California press release of May 29, 2026 says Stericycle 'has agreed to pay more than $56 million to resolve parallel criminal and civil investigations', consisting of a $19.08 million criminal penalty under the deferred prosecution agreement and $37.81 million to resolve civil liability under the Controlled Substances Act. The release says the criminal charges allege conspiracy to defraud the United States by not reporting thefts and significant losses of controlled substances to the DEA, that the conduct was 'as admitted by the company', and that the company divested the business component at issue in April 2020. This concerns Stericycle's medical and pharmaceutical waste business, not WM's residential or commercial trash service.
Who Waste Management is
Form 10-K for 2025 (filed February 9, 2026) names the registrant as Waste Management, Inc., a Delaware company at 800 Capitol Street, Suite 3000, Houston, Texas 77002, telephone (713) 512-6200, traded on the NYSE under the symbol 'WM'. It states: 'Waste Management, Inc. is a holding company and all operations are conducted by its subsidiaries' and 'We are North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, providing services throughout the United States and Canada.' Its solid waste business 'is operated and managed locally by our subsidiaries'.
The filing says the parent was incorporated in Oklahoma in 1987 as USA Waste Services, Inc. and reincorporated in Delaware in 1995; in a 1998 merger the Illinois-based company formerly known as Waste Management, Inc. became a wholly-owned subsidiary and the parent took the Waste Management, Inc. name. It also says WM acquired Stericycle on November 4, 2024. Because local subsidiaries run the routes, the legal entity on an invoice can be a regional company such as 'Waste Management of ...'; BBB lists several such alternate names on its Houston profile.
In a Form 8-K filed August 26, 2026, the company reported that on August 24, 2026 James C. Fish, Jr. notified the Board of his intention to retire as Chief Executive Officer effective January 4, 2027, and that the Board appointed John J. Morris, Jr., the company's President, to succeed him.
Complaints, reviews and our archive
As displayed on October 18, 2026, BBB's profile for Waste Management at 800 Capitol St, Houston shows 'Not Rated', no BBB accreditation, 2,329 total complaints in the last 3 years and 563 filed in the last 12 months, and a customer review rating of 1.08 out of 5 from an average of 1,470 customer reviews. BBB gives as the reason for the rating 'Company has extensive patterns of complaints and customer reviews' and says the profile covers headquarters and corporate-owned locations. Trustpilot's page for wm.com shows 3.3 from 2,536 reviews and a claimed profile (since July 2020) as displayed that day, and states that it does not fact-check reviews. These numbers come from different sites with different rules and are not combined.
Our archive links 169 approved complaints from 2002 to 2016 whose offender field names Waste Management or one of its regional entities, mostly from 2011 to 2013. They are consumer statements, not findings. Counting keywords in their text (a post can match several): 126 mention fees, charges, bills or prices; 71 mention customer service, phone or hold times; 62 mention cancelling or termination; 54 mention contracts or renewal; 35 mention missed or refused pickups; 24 mention late fees, collections or liens. Complaints about a specific municipal contract may concern the local hauling arrangement rather than WM's corporate policy.
Lawsuits disclosed by the company
Form 10-K for 2025 says the company is subject to 'various proceedings, lawsuits, disputes and claims arising in the ordinary course of our business', including 'purported state and national class action lawsuits related to: alleged environmental contamination ... sales and marketing practices, customer service agreements and prices and fees; and federal and state wage and hour and other laws', and that it does not currently believe the eventual outcome of any such action will have a material adverse effect.
In a separate investor suit (not a customer case), the 10-K says that on December 18, 2025 the court granted final approval of a securities class settlement covered by insurance.
One customer-side federal docket was found: Justia lists Heigl v. Waste Management of New York, LLC et al (E.D.N.Y., 1:2019cv05487) with Waste Management of New York, LLC and Waste Management, Inc. as defendants, filed September 27, 2019, nature of suit 'Fraud or Truth-In-Lending'. Justia says its copy was last retrieved on May 20, 2021, and CourtListener and PACER could not be checked for this page, so the current status and any outcome are unverified. A complaint in a lawsuit is an allegation.
Is Waste Management Legitimate?
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM, Delaware, Houston headquarters) files annual reports with the SEC; its Form 10-K for 2025 was filed February 9, 2026. BBB shows the company as not accredited with a 'Not Rated' status (BBB gives its own stated reason on the profile), and Trustpilot shows a claimed profile (both as displayed on October 18, 2026). Service is delivered by local subsidiaries and sometimes under municipal contracts, so a complaint about one route or invoice is an allegation about that operating company and its arrangement.
Court & Public Records
| Case | Authority | Dates | Type | Outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heigl v. Waste Management of New York, LLC et al Docket 1:2019cv05487 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York | Filed | Filed — no final outcome recorded Justia lists Waste Management of New York, LLC and Waste Management, Inc. as defendants, nature of suit 'Fraud or Truth-In-Lending'. Its latest entry shown is a February 3, 2020 initial conference before the magistrate judge, and Justia says the docket was last retrieved on May 20, 2021. The current status and any outcome were not verified; the claims are allegations. | Source |
Company Relationships
- Affiliated with: Stericycle, Inc.
- Affiliated with: Waste Management Holdings, Inc.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I cancel Waste Management service?
WM's cancellation article says residential customers should use the 'Request Help' option to cancel; franchise-community services can be cancelled only if moving, and commercial customers with an active contract may face early termination charges. One-time orders can be cancelled online only if booked online and not within 24 business hours of the scheduled service. Municipal agreements may differ.
What notice window do WM commercial agreements use for non-renewal?
WM's Commercial and Roll-Off Terms & Conditions say that for a renewal term of twelve months or more, written notice of termination must be given at least 90 days but not more than 180 days before the term ends, and that notice received at any other time 'will be considered ineffective'. A signed agreement can differ, so check your own Service Summary.
Does WM require arbitration of billing disputes?
WM's Disputes page says commercial agreements provide for 'mandatory binding arbitration' with a class action waiver, excluding certain claims such as the company's claims for collection of charges. The residential terms contain a similar clause with a 30-day opt-out period after enrolling and a written Claim Notice step before suing or arbitrating. Terms in your own agreement control.
What is the WM Energy Surcharge?
WM's Energy Surcharge page says it 'allows all our collection and disposal companies to keep up with the changing costs of fuel', is shown as a percentage of the monthly or periodic invoice charges, is applied 'before taxes', and replaced the former Fuel Surcharge starting with invoices generated in April 2023.
Is Waste Management the same company as WM?
The 10-K for 2025 uses 'WM' as its NYSE symbol and says the registrant is Waste Management, Inc., a holding company whose operations are conducted by subsidiaries. Invoices can carry a regional subsidiary's name.
What does BBB show for Waste Management?
As displayed on October 18, 2026, BBB's Houston profile shows 'Not Rated', not BBB Accredited, 2,329 complaints in the last 3 years, 563 in the last 12 months, and a 1.08 out of 5 customer review rating from an average of 1,470 reviews. Local branches have separate listings.
What does Trustpilot show for WM?
As displayed on October 18, 2026, Trustpilot's wm.com page shows 3.3 from 2,536 reviews with a claimed profile since July 2020. Trustpilot says it does not fact-check reviews.
Why do many complaints mention contract renewal?
In our archive, 54 of 169 linked complaints (keyword count) mention contracts or renewal, typically commercial or dumpster agreements with notice windows. WM's cancellation article says commercial customers with an active contract may face early termination charges. Check your own agreement for the renewal and notice terms.
Does WM own Stericycle?
The 10-K for 2025 says: 'On November 4, 2024, the Company acquired Stericycle', and refers to Stericycle as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Stericycle's May 2026 resolution with the U.S. Department of Justice is described under the regulator section above.
Where is Waste Management headquartered?
The 10-K for 2025 lists 800 Capitol Street, Suite 3000, Houston, Texas 77002, telephone (713) 512-6200.