Clean Harbors
American environmental company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clean Harbors, Inc., headquartered in Norwell, Massachusetts, is a provider of waste management and industrial services for commercial customers, specializing in the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, but also offering services for non-hazardous waste.[2] The company has 870 operating locations in 630 properties in the U.S. and Canada including a network of over 100 waste disposal facilities such as incinerators, landfills (seven hazardous waste landfills and two non-hazardous waste landfills), treatment, storage and disposal facilities.[2] It also owns Safety-Kleen, the largest re-refiner and recycler of used oil in North America.[2] In 2024, the company received 91% of its revenues in the United States and 9% of its revenues in Canada.[2] In 2024, the company's revenues primarily came from the following industries: chemical industry (15%), manufacturing (14%), refineries (13%), automotive industry (8%), utilities (6%), base and blended oils (5%), oil and gas industry (5%), transportation (4%), government (4%) and retail (3%).[2]
| |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Waste management |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Alan McKim |
| Headquarters | Norwell, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Number of locations | 870 |
Area served | United States Canada |
| Key people | Alan McKim (chairperson) Michael L. Battles (co-CEO and co-president) Eric W. Gerstenberg (co-CEO and co-president) Eric J. Dugas (CFO) |
| Services | Environmental & Industrial |
| Revenue |  US$6.03 billion (2025)[1] |
 US$391 million (2025)[1] | |
| Owner | Alan McKim (4.8%) |
Number of employees | 25,232 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | Safety-Kleen |
| Website | cleanharbors |
| Footnotes [2] | |
The company is ranked 586th on the Fortune 500.[3]
History
Clean Harbors was founded in 1980 in Brockton, Massachusetts, by Alan McKim as a four-person tank cleaning business.[4]
In November 1987, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.[5]
In 1984, the company removed 130,000 gallons of fuel oil from the tanker Eldia, which became the largest ship to have been beached off Cape Cod.[6]
Acquisitions
| # | Date | Company | Price | Description of Assets | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1989 | Chem Clear | Aqueous waste treatment with facilities in Baltimore, Chicago and Cleveland; first major acquisition outside of New England. | [4] | |
| 2 | 1995 | Kimball, Nebraska Incinerator Facility | Waste incinerator facility acquired from Amoco; first RCRA-certified incinerator. | [7] | |
| 3 | February 2002 | Chemical Services Division of Safety-Kleen | $46.3 million | 55 service centers and 33 waste management facilities; expanded chemical and waste disposal services. | [4][8][9] |
| 4 | August 2006 | Teris | $52.7 million | Incinerator and treatment, storage and disposal facilities; extended reach to California. | [10] |
| 5 | February 2008 | Recycling facilities in Chicago and Hebron, Ohio from Safety-Kleen | $12.5 million in cash and the assumption of $3 million in liabilities | [11] | |
| 6 | August 2009 | Eveready | C$464 million | Services for the oil and gas industry; expanded into Canada. | [12] |
| 7 | June 2011 | Peak Energy Services | C$$202 million | Oil and gas surface rentals for liquid, solid and sludge processing. | [13] |
| 8 | December 2012 | Safety-Kleen | US$1.25 billion | Used oil recycling and re-refining, and parts washers. | [14] |
| 9 | April 2015 | Thermo Fluids | $85 million | Recycles used oil, solvents and oil filters. | [15] |
| 10 | September 2016 | Emerald Services | Oil and wastewater recycling services. | [16] | |
| 11 | July 2017 | Lonestar West | C$44 million | Daylighting and hydro excavation services. | [17] |
| 12 | October 2021 | HydroChemPSC | $1.25 billion | Provider of industrial cleaning, specialty maintenance and utilities services; acquired from Littlejohn & Co. | [18] |
| 13 | May 2023 | Thompson Industries | $110 million | Industrial service operations in the Southeastern United States. | [19] |
| 14 | March 2024 | Hepaco | $400 million | Environmental and emergency response capabilities. | [20] |
| 15 | May 2024 | Noble Oil Services | Industrial waste and wastewater services. | [21] | |
| 16 | May 2026 | Terra Nova Solutions | $225 million | Used oil collection and vacuum gas oil re-refining. | [22] |
| 17 | August 2026 | EnviroServe | $470 million | End-to-end waste management and waste storage capabilities. | [23] |