This settlement resolves claims that Waste Connections haulers added rate increases and fuel surcharges to commercial trash accounts without a contractual basis. If your business, non-profit or public agency paid a Waste Connections entity for solid waste collection, you may be able to claim a share of a $1.4 million fund — residential customers are excluded.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to submit a claim form online or by mail is October 22, 2026, and the separate deadline to exclude yourself or object is October 7, 2026. The court granted preliminary approval and certified a settlement class on June 24, 2026, and a final approval hearing is set for December 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET before the Honorable Jacquelyn D. Austin in Greenville, South Carolina. No final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced. If your business received a postcard notice with a Unique ID and PIN, that is what you need to file online.What Changed Recently?
The case is Pinnacle Waste Services, LLC v. Waste Connections US, Inc., et al., No. 7:21-cv-02600-JDA, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Greenville Division. The complaint alleges that Waste Connections US, Inc., Waste Connections of South Carolina, Inc., Waste Connections of North Carolina, Inc., and Waste Connections Lone Star, Inc., along with other subsidiaries and affiliates of Waste Connections, Inc., imposed rate increases and fuel surcharge fees on customers without a contractual basis. The operative complaint pleads breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.The defendants and the other Waste Connections subsidiaries and affiliates deny all of the allegations and deny any wrongdoing or liability. According to the notice, they contend their conduct was lawful and are settling to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and risk of continued litigation. The court has not ruled in favor of either side.
On June 24, 2026, the court preliminarily approved the settlement and certified a settlement class, which is what opened the claim process. The claim window runs through October 22, 2026. A brief explainer on what preliminary approval does and does not decide is worth reading if you are weighing whether to file now or wait.
Who Qualifies?
The certified settlement class covers all persons and entities — including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, non-profit organizations, and governmental, quasi-governmental and public bodies — that arranged for or received solid waste collection services in the United States from any Waste Connections entity at any time during the class period. "Waste Connections entity" is defined broadly in the notice to reach any current, former or future direct or indirect subsidiary, division, affiliate or other related business entity of Waste Connections, Inc., including predecessors and successors. That matters in practice, because many customers were billed by a regional hauler brand rather than by anything labeled "Waste Connections."The claim form's attestation asks the filer to confirm that they represent an entity that received hauling services in the United States from a Waste Connections entity from August 13, 2018 through the effective date of the settlement.
The exclusions are extensive, and several of them are the reason a customer who thinks they qualify may not. Excluded from the class are:
- Waste Connections, Inc. and any Waste Connections entity, along with their officers, directors, affiliates, legal representatives, employees, successors and assigns.
- The presiding judge, court staff, and their immediate family members.
- Customers served under a franchise agreement between a Waste Connections entity and a municipality or other governmental entity who did not have their own individual service agreement.
- Customers served in a rate-regulated market.
- Any HOA, and any customer receiving service under an agreement between an HOA and a Waste Connections entity.
- Residential customers. This is a commercial-account settlement; household trash service is not covered.
- Customers whose service agreement contains a binding class action waiver.
- Customers served through any broker listed on Exhibit F to the settlement agreement, and anyone who received service as part of an arrangement with one of those brokers.
- Temporary roll-off service customers.
How Much Can You Get?
The defendants agreed to pay $1,400,000 to resolve the action, and that figure also covers attorneys' fees, costs and expenses and any service award the court approves. No per-claimant payment amount has been announced. The settlement website states that a class member's cash payment may depend on the number of claims filed, which is the standard pro rata arrangement: the money available is fixed, so each valid claim's share moves with how many others come in.Class counsel will ask the court for attorneys' fees of up to $466,666, reimbursement of costs and expenses of up to $75,000, and a service award of up to $35,000 for the class representative, all payable from the settlement fund. As an estimate only — this is our arithmetic on the figures in the notice, not a number the notice states — if the court granted all three requests in full, about $823,000 of the fund would remain before any administration costs. The court has not ruled on any of those requests, and it may award less than what is sought. Class members pay nothing directly toward class counsel's fees or costs.
If the settlement is approved, payments are mailed to the address on file with the defendants or otherwise provided to the administrator. The notice states that checks expire ninety days after issue, so a claimant who lets one sit risks losing the payment.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
Filing online requires a Unique ID and a PIN, both printed on the postcard notice mailed to class members. Because filing through the portal is gated on an administrator-issued credential, this page treats the settlement as Proof Required: Yes even though no invoices or receipts have to be uploaded.There is a second path. The settlement website publishes a downloadable paper claim form that is completed and mailed to the administrator, and that form asks for claimant and entity information, the service address where a Waste Connections entity provided collection, a checkbox attesting to service between August 13, 2018 and the effective date, and a signature under penalty of perjury. It does not ask for a Unique ID. The claim form also notes that the administrator may follow up to request additional documents to process a claim, so keeping invoices or service agreements on hand is sensible even though nothing has to be attached up front.
If your business had service at more than one address, the claim form directs filers with multiple eligible service addresses to file through the settlement website rather than on paper.
What Is the Deadline?
Claim forms must be submitted through the settlement website or postmarked by October 22, 2026. The notice does not specify a cutoff time or an official timezone for that date, so treat it as a firm calendar deadline and file ahead of it.Two earlier deadlines both fall on October 7, 2026: a written request for exclusion must be postmarked by that date, and a written objection must be postmarked by then and served on class counsel, defense counsel and the administrator. Filing a claim does not preserve any right to object later, and doing nothing does not either — a class member who takes no action is still bound by the release. Our guide to opting out of a class action covers what you keep and give up by excluding yourself.
How Do You Take Action?
File through the official settlement website at Pinnacle Waste Settlement.com. The online path asks for the Unique ID and PIN from the postcard notice, then walks through claimant information, the service address, and the attestation. After you submit, the administrator emails a confirmation code — keep it, since it is what you will reference if a question comes up about the claim.The same website hosts the downloadable paper claim form and the long-form notice, and it has a contact page for reaching the administrator if you did not receive a postcard or have lost it. If your mailing or email address changes after you file, it is your responsibility to tell the administrator, since payment goes to the address on file.
Filing is free. Class counsel already represents the class, and no class member needs to hire a lawyer to submit a claim.
What Happens Next?
The next scheduled milestone is the final approval hearing on December 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET in the Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Greenville, South Carolina. At that hearing the court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, and will rule on class counsel's requests for fees, costs and a service award. The notice warns that the hearing can be moved to a different date or time without further notice, so check the settlement website before relying on it.Class members do not need to attend to remain in the class or to receive benefits, and attending is not required for a properly submitted written objection to be considered. If the court approves the settlement, it will enter a judgment dismissing the case with prejudice and releasing the covered claims. If it does not approve, the case proceeds as though no settlement had happened, with no assurance that class members would recover more — or anything at all.
No payment date has been announced as of August 27, 2026. Payments follow final approval and the settlement becoming effective, which typically means after any appeal period runs.
What the Release Covers
The release is broad. It covers claims relating to the pricing, rate adjustments, fees, surcharges, fuel or environmental charges, administrative charges and any other amounts a Waste Connections entity billed or collected during the class period, along with alleged misrepresentations or omissions about that billing, and the facts and conduct alleged in the action or that could have been alleged in it. It reaches the defendants, Waste Connections and every Waste Connections entity, plus their affiliates, officers, employees, agents, insurers, vendors and other listed parties.Three carve-outs are stated in the notice: the release does not cover claims for personal injury, wrongful death or property damage, including subrogation for the same; claims to enforce the settlement agreement itself; or claims based solely on conduct occurring after the effective date. A business weighing whether the release is worth the payment should read the settlement agreement on the official website rather than relying on any summary, this one included.
Sources and Verification
• Official Settlement Website — home, FAQs and documents• Settlement FAQ page — class definition, exclusions, deadlines, fee request
• Long-Form Notice of Settlement (PDF)
• Claim filing instructions and paper claim form
• Pinnacle Waste Services, LLC v. Waste Connections US, Inc., et al., No. 7:21-cv-02600-JDA (D.S.C.) — preliminary approval order entered June 24, 2026
Questions
Can I file if I had residential trash pickup from Waste Connections?
No. Residential customers are expressly excluded from the settlement class. This settlement covers persons and entities that arranged for or received solid waste collection services from a Waste Connections entity in a commercial capacity — businesses, non-profits, and public bodies among them. Customers served under a municipal franchise agreement without their own service agreement, customers in rate-regulated markets, HOA-arranged customers, customers whose service agreement contains a binding class action waiver, temporary roll-off customers, and customers served through certain listed brokers are also excluded.
I never got a postcard notice. Can I still file a claim?
The online claim portal requires a Unique ID and PIN printed on the mailed postcard notice, so you cannot file online without them. The settlement website also publishes a downloadable paper claim form that is submitted by mail, and it asks for the claimant's identity, the service address, and a signed attestation rather than a Unique ID. If you believe you are a class member and do not have your notice, use the contact page on the official settlement website to reach the administrator.
How much will each business receive from the Waste Connections settlement?
No per-claimant figure has been announced. The settlement website states that a class member's cash payment may depend on the number of claims filed, so payments are expected to be shared out of the $1.4 million fund after the court rules on the requested attorneys' fees, costs, and service award. Any individual estimate circulating before the court rules is speculation.
What is the deadline to file a Waste Connections settlement claim?
Claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by October 22, 2026. The separate deadline to exclude yourself from the class or to object to the settlement is October 7, 2026. The notice states these dates without specifying a cutoff time or timezone.
Has the Waste Connections settlement been approved?
Not finally. The court granted preliminary approval and certified a settlement class on June 24, 2026. A final approval hearing is scheduled for December 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET before the Honorable Jacquelyn D. Austin in Greenville, South Carolina. No final approval order has been entered, and no payment date has been announced.
What am I giving up if I file a claim or do nothing?
Unless you exclude yourself by October 7, 2026, you stay in the class and are bound by the release whether or not you file a claim. The release covers claims about pricing, rate adjustments, fees, surcharges and related disclosures by Waste Connections entities during the class period. It expressly does not release claims for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage, claims to enforce the settlement agreement, or claims based solely on conduct after the effective date.
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