Waste Management Inc. turned to a staffing company, Seaton Corp., to recruit 5,500 permanent employees this year, cutting annual hiring expenses for the trash hauler by $1.9 million.

Using Seaton has been “much more scalable and flexible for me than to have to find recruiters and get them on board, which may take weeks, if not months,” said Brent McCombs, Waste Management’s vice president of talent. It’s a “relatively risk- free way” to expand.