Republic Services (RSG) 11th Annual Waste and Environmental Symposium summary

Business overview and strategy

• Operates primarily in recycling, waste, and environmental solutions, with a growing focus on sustainability and decarbonization initiatives.

• Expanded into environmental solutions due to customer demand, acquiring key assets and building out downstream capabilities.

• Acquisition of US Ecology in 2022 added irreplaceable hazardous waste assets and enabled significant cross-selling and margin expansion.

• Environmental solutions segment improved EBITDA margins from mid-teens to mid-20s, with further room for growth.

• Maintains a highly contracted business model, with over 85% of customers under contract and strong customer loyalty rates above 94%.

Market conditions and pricing

• Majority of revenue comes from scheduled services, providing stability despite cyclical softness in construction and manufacturing.

• Pricing model targets 100 basis points above cost inflation, aiming for 5% yield with 4% cost inflation in 2025.

• Shifted pricing mechanisms from headline CPI to alternative indices, improving pricing power and margin resilience.

• Inflation in the 3-4% range is considered optimal for maintaining healthy margins.

• State-level regulations and EPR policies are supporting demand for recycled and upcycled products.

Operational performance and investments

• Polymer centers process collected plastics into high-value, food-grade materials, with two centers operational and two more planned.

• Las Vegas and Indianapolis centers are ramping up, with strong customer demand and positive price outlook.

• Control of feedstock is a key differentiator, enabling efficient investment in polymer centers and ensuring supply.

• Ideal leverage ratio is 2.5–3x, balancing efficiency and investment-grade credit rating.

• Margin expansion and leverage are most pronounced in commercial collection and landfill special waste, especially with manufacturing growth.