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A primer on how the sector is structured, why it consolidates, and how it trades. WM, WCN, and RSG run the public consolidation playbook; the rest of the group benchmarks off how the majors buy, pay, and trade. Company-level comps and the deal log live in Comps & Precedents.
86
companies covered
14.7x
median EV / EBITDA
6
sub-sectors
3,800
disclosed acquisitions
Market structure
86 companies across 6 sub-sectors. Solid Waste and Water Utilities hold the deepest rosters and the densest disclosed M&A; the smaller sub-sectors trade and consolidate off the same playbook.
median EV / EBITDA
Route density, landfill capacity, hazwaste, and industrial cleaning compounders.
14
Public names
1,357
Disclosed acq.
521
Named deals
Key names: Waste Management, Inc (WM), Republic Services, Inc. (RSG), Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN)
median EV / EBITDA
Regulated municipal and investor-owned water + wastewater systems.
12
Public names
610
Disclosed acq.
526
Named deals
Key names: Pure Cycle Corporation (PCYO), Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG), Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO)
median EV / EBITDA
Pumps, valves, treatment, instrumentation, and the Danaher-pedigree carve-outs.
13
Public names
576
Disclosed acq.
543
Named deals
Key names: Ecolab Inc. (ECL), Pentair plc (PNR), Itron, Inc. (ITRI)
median EV / EBITDA
Federal infrastructure consultancies, remediation engineers, and design build.
14
Public names
510
Disclosed acq.
433
Named deals
Key names: Quanta Services, Inc. (PWR), Jacobs Solutions Inc. (J), Aecom (ACM)
median EV / EBITDA
Utility-scale solar, RNG developers, energy storage, and circular-economy bets.
21
Public names
504
Disclosed acq.
500
Named deals
Key names: Nextera Energy, Inc. (NEE), Clearway Energy, Inc. (CWEN), Brookfield Renewable Partners L.p. (BEP)
median EV / EBITDA
Filtration, route-density industrials, marine services, and historical references.
12
Public names
243
Disclosed acq.
240
Named deals
Key names: RB Global, Inc (RBA), Kirby Corporation (KEX), Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI)
Consolidation thesis
Public consolidation runs through repeatable tuck-in programs. SRCL and WM lead with 419 and 236 disclosed acquisitions, setting the cadence the rest of the group benchmarks against.
Valuation × disclosed acquisition spend × scale
Core sector names grouped by sub-sector, positioned by trading multiple, and sized by filing-derived disclosed acquisition spend. Names without spend or valuation data are excluded.
Lead public consolidators
Disclosed acquisitions are acquisition rows extracted from SEC filings across the coverage window. They show directional consolidation cadence, not a complete deal history. Full acquirer league table and named-deal log in Comps & Precedents.
Valuation framework
A group median of 14.7x EV/EBITDA, in a tight band; Renewables & RNG richest at 16.0x, Solid Waste cheapest at 14.0x.
Public-company median EV/EBITDA by sub-sector, from the live trading comps. Company-level multiples, dispersion, and the named-deal log are in Comps & Precedents.