Analysis
NAICS 562212 is the 2022 national industry for solid waste landfill, part of 56221 (Waste Treatment and Disposal). Census lists 13 example activities under it in the official index.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 4 codes at this level within Waste Treatment and Disposal, with 46.9% of them.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments grew 10% and employment rose 26%. The 2018 count used NAICS 2017, so part of a large move can come from codes being redefined rather than from businesses opening or closing.
County Business Patterns counts 1,559 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 23,871 people at an average annual payroll of $68,932 per employee (51st percentile of national industries). 40% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Census lists 5 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 562211, 562213, 221320 and 562219. Businesses that do several things are classified by their primary activity, the one that generates the most value, so check those boundaries before settling on this code.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include dumps, nonhazardous solid waste (e.g., trash), garbage disposal landfills, garbage dumps and landfills, among 13 in all.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in (1) operating landfills for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste or (2) the combined activity of collecting and/or hauling nonhazardous waste materials within a local area and operating landfills for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste. These establishments may produce byproducts, such as methane.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Operating treatment and/or disposal facilities for hazardous waste | 562211 Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal |
| Operating combustors and incinerators for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste | 562213 Solid Waste Combustors and Incinerators |
| Collecting, treating, and disposing waste through sewer systems or sewage treatment facilities | 221320 Sewage Treatment Facilities |
| Operating nonhazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities (except landfills, combustors, incinerators, and sewer systems or sewage treatment facilities) | 562219 Other Nonhazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal |
| Manufacturing compost | 325315 Compost Manufacturing |
Index entries (13)
- Dumps, nonhazardous solid waste (e.g., trash)
- Garbage disposal landfills
- Garbage dumps
- Landfills
- Refuse collecting and operating solid waste landfills
- Refuse disposal landfills
- Rubbish disposal landfills
- Sanitary landfills
- Sludge disposal sites
- Solid waste landfills combined with collection and/or local hauling of nonhazardous waste materials
- Solid waste landfills, nonhazardous
- Trash disposal landfills
- Waste disposal landfills, nonhazardous solid