Clean Harbors, Inc.

What does Clean Harbors own?

It owns the largest network of hazardous waste incinerators, landfills, and treatment facilities in North America, hundreds of service locations, and the Safety-Kleen used-oil collection and re-refining business.

Is Clean Harbors publicly traded?

Yes. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker CLH and is a component of the S&P MidCap 400 index.

Who founded Clean Harbors?

Alan S. McKim, who started the company in Brockton, Massachusetts in 1980 with one truck. He led it for 43 years and remains executive chairman.

Where is Clean Harbors headquartered?

Norwell, Massachusetts, on Boston's South Shore.

How many brands does Clean Harbors own?

Two principal brands: Clean Harbors for environmental and industrial services, and Safety-Kleen for oil collection and re-refining, plus smaller acquired service brands.

Who owns Clean Harbors?

Public shareholders, primarily institutional investors. No controlling shareholder exists, though founder Alan McKim retains a significant stake as executive chairman.

How does Clean Harbors make money?

Through fees for waste collection, treatment, and disposal at its own facilities; industrial cleaning and emergency response contracts; and Safety-Kleen's used-oil collection charges plus sales of re-refined lubricants.

Alan McKim started the company in 1980 in Brockton, Massachusetts, with a single truck cleaning out industrial tanks. The regulatory environment was shifting under his feet: the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act was new, and the Superfund law of 1980 created a federal cleanup program that guaranteed demand for hazardous waste services.

Through the 1980s Clean Harbors won site cleanup and industrial maintenance contracts across New England. Its 1987 initial public offering funded the purchase of treatment facilities and the beginning of a national footprint.

The 1990s and 2000s were built on acquisition and capacity. The company added incinerators, landfills, and field service offices, expanding into Canada and building an emergency response business that handled major industrial accidents and natural disasters.

The defining deal came in 2012, when Clean Harbors bought Safety-Kleen for $1.25 billion. Safety-Kleen brought the largest used-oil collection network in North America plus re-refineries that turn waste oil into finished lubricants. The acquisition gave Clean Harbors a second segment with different economics from its disposal business.

Founder Alan McKim ran the company for 43 years before handing the chief executive role to co-CEOs Michael Battles and Eric Gerstenberg in 2023, remaining executive chairman. Under the new leadership the company has kept buying, adding Thompson Industrial Services in 2024 and other regional industrial services businesses.

Fiscal 2025 delivered record results: revenue of $6.03 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $1.17 billion, and the lowest safety incident rate in company history at 0.49 TRIR. The company also continued share repurchases alongside its acquisition program.

The company's environmental contribution is real but complicated. It treats and destroys hazardous materials that would otherwise threaten soil and water, and Safety-Kleen re-refines hundreds of millions of gallons of used oil each year, one of the larger recycling operations on the continent.

At the same time, it operates incinerators and landfills, facilities with unavoidable emissions and community impact. Its sustainability reporting tracks emissions, safety, and waste volumes, and its 0.49 total recordable incident rate in 2025 was its best on record.

The honest framing is that Clean Harbors is the cleanup side of the industrial economy: indispensable to environmental protection while itself operating heavy industrial infrastructure with real local footprint.

As a hazardous waste operator, Clean Harbors lives under permanent regulatory scrutiny from the EPA, state agencies, and Canadian regulators. It has paid periodic fines over the decades for waste handling, storage, and record-keeping violations at individual facilities, resolved through settlements and corrective measures.

The 2023 East Palestine, Ohio derailment cleanup brought intense attention when the company received contaminated soil and wastewater at its facilities. Residents and officials in receiving states protested the shipments, though the work was directed and overseen by the EPA and no enforcement action targeted the company.

Community opposition to incinerator and landfill siting is a recurring issue. Environmental groups have periodically challenged permit renewals at specific facilities, the standard operating friction for the industry rather than a company-specific scandal.