Basis of Presentation | BASIS OF PRESENTATION Republic Services, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries (also referred to collectively as Republic, the Company, we, us, or our), is the second largest provider of non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer, recycling, disposal and energy services in the United States, as measured by revenue. We manage and evaluate our operations through two field groups, Group 1 and Group 2, which we have identified as our reportable segments. The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Republic and its wholly owned and majority owned subsidiaries in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). We account for investments in entities in which we do not have a controlling financial interest under either the equity method or cost method of accounting, as appropriate. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. We have prepared these unaudited consolidated financial statements pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certain information related to our organization, significant accounting policies and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP has been condensed or omitted. In the opinion of management, these financial statements include all adjustments that, unless otherwise disclosed, are of a normal recurring nature and necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results you can expect for a full year. You should read these financial statements in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 . For comparative purposes, certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. All dollar amounts in tabular presentations are in millions, except per share amounts and unless otherwise noted. Management’s Estimates and Assumptions In preparing our financial statements, we make numerous estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in these financial statements and accompanying notes. We must make these estimates and assumptions because certain information we use is dependent on future events, cannot be calculated with a high degree of precision from data available or simply cannot be readily calculated based on generally accepted methodologies. In preparing our financial statements, the more critical and subjective areas that deal with the greatest amount of uncertainty relate to our accounting for our long-lived assets, including recoverability, landfill development costs, and final capping, closure and post-closure costs; our valuation allowances for accounts receivable and deferred tax assets; our liabilities for potential litigation, claims and assessments; our liabilities for environmental remediation, multiemployer pension funds, employee benefit plans, deferred taxes, uncertain tax positions, and insurance reserves; and our estimates of the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in any acquisition. Each of these items is discussed in more detail in our description of our significant accounting policies in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 . Our actual results may differ significantly from our estimates. New Accounting Pronouncements Revenue Recognition In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, which created Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and Subtopic 340-40, Other Assets and Deferred Costs - Contracts with Customers. The new standard requires the use of a five step methodology to depict the transfer of promised goods and services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard also requires enhanced disclosures regarding revenue recognition. Due to the complexity of the new standard, the FASB subsequently issued several amendments intended to clarify ASU 2014-09. In July 2015, the FASB voted to amend the guidance by approving a one-year deferral of the effective date. As such, Republic will adopt the standard beginning January 1, 2018. As we progress to adopt the standard we continually monitor clarifying interpretations. The new standard must be adopted using either a full retrospective approach for all periods presented in the period of adoption or a modified retrospective approach. We currently plan to adopt the standard using the modified retrospective approach and recognize a cumulative effect adjustment to Retained Earnings as of the date of adoption. Under ASU 2014-09, we will record revenue when control is transferred to the customer, generally at the time we provide waste collection services. We continue to assess our operating results under ASU 2014-09 for our residential, small-container, and large-container collection businesses, and we do not anticipate a significant change to the pattern or timing of revenue recognition as a result of adopting the new standard. We are also evaluating the effect of adopting this guidance on our transfer, landfill, recycling and energy services lines of business, and we expect our operating results to remain significantly unchanged. In addition, we are assessing the effect this guidance may have on the recognition of costs we incur to obtain and fulfill our contracts, certain of which we currently expense as incurred. We are assessing the disclosure requirements under ASU 2014-09, and we anticipate disclosing additional information, as necessary, to supplement our disaggregated revenue disclosure, as currently presented in our table showing total reported revenue by service line, and our discussion regarding the nature of our customer contracts included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. Other Accounting Pronouncements In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which increases transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. This guidance requires lessees to recognize lease assets and liabilities for most leases classified as operating leases under previous U.S. GAAP. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. We are currently assessing the potential effect this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements. On January 1, 2017, Republic adopted the guidance in ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718) (ASU 2016-09) . Under ASU 2016-09, entities are permitted to make an accounting policy election to either estimate forfeitures on share-based payment awards, as previously required, or to recognize forfeitures as they occur. We have elected to recognize forfeitures as they occur and the impact of that change in accounting policy has been evaluated and determined to be insignificant and resulted in no cumulative-effect change to our retained earnings. Additionally, ASU 2016-09 requires that all income tax effects related to settlements of share-based payment awards generally be reported in earnings as an increase or decrease to our income tax expense (benefit), net. Previously, income tax benefits at settlement of an award were reported as an increase (or decrease) to our additional paid-in capital to the extent that those benefits were greater than (or less than) the income tax benefits reported in earnings during the award's vesting period. The requirement to report those income tax effects in earnings has been applied on a prospective basis to settlements occurring on or after January 1, 2017 and the impact of applying that guidance was an $8.9 million reduction to the current tax provision in the consolidated financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2017. ASU 2016-09 also requires that all income tax-related cash flows resulting from share-based payments be reported as operating activities in the statement of cash flows. Previously, income tax benefits at settlement of an award were reported as a reduction to operating cash flows and an increase to financing cash flows to the extent that those benefits exceeded the income tax benefits reported in earnings during the award's vesting period. Republic has elected to apply that change in cash flow classification on a prospective basis, leaving previously reported net cash provided by operating activities and net cash used in financing activities in the accompanying Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the period ended March 31, 2016 unchanged. The remaining provisions of ASU 2016-09 did not have a material impact on the accompanying consolidated financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. This ASU provides guidance on debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, including bank-owned life insurance policies, distributions received from equity method investees, beneficial interests in securitization transactions, and separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The ASU will be applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented. We are currently assessing the potential effect this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements. However, at this time we do not expect significant changes to our reported cash flows. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) - Restricted Cash. This guidance clarifies how entities should present restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The guidance requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. The ASU will be applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented. We are currently assessing the potential effect this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805) - Clarifying the Definition of Business. This guidance assists entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The new guidance provides a screen that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired (or disposed of) is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not a business. If the screen is not met, the entity then evaluates whether the set meets the requirement that a business include, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs. The guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. The ASU will be applied prospectively to any transactions occurring within the period of adoption. Early adoption is permitted, including for interim or annual periods in which the financial statements have not been issued or made available for issuance. We are currently assessing the potential effect this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) - Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. Under this guidance, entities should perform their annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. Entities should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however, the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, entities should consider income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. The guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those years. The ASU will be applied prospectively. Early adoption is permitted for interim and annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. We are currently assessing the potential effect this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements. However, at this time we do not expect any material impacts from adoption. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715) - Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. The amendments require that an employer report the service cost component in the same line item or items as other compensation costs arising from services rendered by the pertinent employees during the period. The other components of net benefit cost are required to be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component and outside a subtotal of income from operations, if one is presented. If a separate line item or items are used to present the other components of net benefit cost, that line item or items must be appropriately described. If a separate line item or items are not used, the line item or items used in the income statement to present the other components of net benefit cost must be disclosed. The amendments also allow only the service cost component to be eligible for capitalization when applicable (e.g., as a cost of internally manufactured inventory or a self-constructed asset). The guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. The ASU will be applied retrospectively for the presentation of the service cost component and the other components of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost in the income statement and prospectively, on and after the effective date, for the capitalization of the service cost component of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit in assets. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual period for which financial statements (interim or annual) have not been issued or made available for issuance. We are currently assessing the potential effect this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements. Service costs for the year ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 were $1.5 million and $2.9 million , respectively. |