Stericycle

Stericycle was founded in 1989 by Dr. James Sharp based on his business plan to address the Syringe Tide, where hypodermic needles and other medical waste washed up to the shores of New York and New Jersey. The Syringe Tide led to the Medical Waste Tracking Act, signed in 1988, establishing regulated medical waste management as an industry.In 1992, Mark Miller stepped in as President and CEO, and as a result of Miller's leadership, Stericycle grew rapidly, going public in 1996 on the NASDAQ . Stericycle began to expand internationally in 1998, starting with Mexico and Canada. In 1999, Stericycle acquired 200,000 customers from Allied Waste Industries after Allied acquired Browning Ferris Industries.The company's international business began in 1997 with a joint venture in Mexico. Since then, Stericycle has created services, tools and resources for healthcare professionals not only in the United States and Mexico, but also in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

In 1999, Stericycle began offering safety and compliance training services with the launch of its Stericycle Steri-Safe OSHA Compliance program.

Expansion

In the 2000s, Stericycle achieved growth through launching and/or acquiring complementary business lines, as well as continued international expansion. In 2003, Stericycle entered sharps waste management, acquiring Scherer Healthcare's existing practice and occasionally referring to parts of the service as “Bio Systems” in markets like Ireland. In 2004, Stericycle began providing medical waste solutions in the United Kingdom with more international growth following. In 2008, Stericycle acquired its first hazardous waste removal company and in 2010 started its Communications Solutions business line. The acquisition of PSC Environmental Solutions in 2014 led to the formal establishment of Environmental Solutions focused on hazardous waste. Finally, Stericycle's largest acquisition to date, Shred-it, occurred in 2015, for US$2.3 billion.In 2010, Stericycle began to include patient notification services with the acquisition of NotifyMD. Several other acquisitions followed, giving Stericycle an interest in telephone support services for physician offices.

In 2014, it acquired PSC Environmental Services LLC in a deal worth $275 million to form Stericycle Environmental Solutions. This enabled expansion in hazardous waste management.

In 2015, it acquired Shred-it International in a deal worth $2.3 billion.The company lost a contract to provide clinical waste services to GPs and pharmacies in Cumbria and north-east England in April 2017, when their competitor, Healthcare Environment Services put in a substantially cheaper offer, of £310,000, than theirs of £479,999. Stericycle then contrived a legal challenge against NHS England’s decision which was dismissed by the High Court of Justice in July 2018, and the company's behaviour severely criticised. Their commercial director Lindsay Dransfield was described as “a broadly unsatisfactory witness”. The company said it intended to appeal.Beyond services related to healthcare wastes, in some markets the company has expanded its offerings to include management of certain hazardous wastes as well as patient transport and medical courier services.

In October 2018, Cindy Miller became president and Chief Operating Officer of Stericycle, and became Chief Executive Officer in May 2019.