Source reduction (including reuse) is the most preferred method, followed by recycling and composting, and, lastly, disposal in combustion facilities and landfills.

Source reduction can be a successful method of reducing waste generation. Practices such as grasscycling, backyard composting, two-sided copying of paper, and transport packaging reduction by industry have yielded substantial benefits through source reduction. Source reduction has many environmental benefits. It prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases, reduces pollutants, saves energy, conserves resources, and reduces the need for new landfills and combustors.

Recycling prevents the emission ofTypical materials that are recycled include batteries, recycled at a rate of 99%, paper and paperboard at 52%, and yard trimmings at 62%. These materials and others may be recycled through curbside programs, drop-off centers, buy-back programs, and deposit systems.  Many greenhouse gases and water pollutants, saves energy, supplies valuable raw materials to industry, creates jobs, stimulates the development of greener technologies, conserves resources for our children's future, and reduces the need for new landfills and combustors. Recycling also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions that affect global climate.

Burning MSW can generate energy while reducing the amount of waste by up to 90 percent in volume and 75 percent in weight. Recycling also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions that affect global climate.

Households often discard many common items such as paint, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain hazardous components. Leftover portions of these products are called household hazardous waste (HHW). These products, if mishandled, can be dangerous to your health and the environment.

In industrialized countries municipal solid waste is often collected from homes by curbside collection using purpose-built waste collection vehicles; however, many communities require residents, especially in rural areas, to take their household waste to specified transfer stations. In a few places a proprietary vacuum-based collection device, known as Envac, conveys refuse via underground conduits. Waste management is sometimes carried out directly by a department of local government, and sometimes by a private company under contract. Disposal of large quantities of commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator.

In the world, the regulatory definition of "solid waste" varies slightly from state to state but does not include hazardous waste generated from commercial, industrial or institutional sources. The solid waste disposal industry divides solid waste into 4 to 6 major categories for disposal depending on the state in which the waste is disposed:

• General Solid Waste or Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is typical waste generated from residential and non-industrial commercial sources.
  
• Industrial Solid Waste is waste that is the result of a variety of industrial process. That is a process where a new, physical product is manufactured from a set of input materials. Mining and electric power generation are usually included in the industrial category for the purpose of classifying solid waste.
  
• Residual Solid Waste is a subset of industrial wastes that many U.S. states regulate separately from miscellaneous industrial waste. Residual wastes are wastes or "residue" that are left over from a specific process. Residual wastes tend to be fairly homogeneous in composition and have a relatively lower environmental impact compared to most industrial solid wastes. Residual wastes often have a mineral composition; one example is Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) waste from electric power generation. Because residual wastes are fairly consistent, many states allow the generators of these wastes to dispose of them in captive landfills that are designed only for that particular residual waste. 
  
• Construction and Demolition Debris (C&DD), as the name suggests, are the result of the construction and/or demolition of roads, buildings or other physical structures. Traditionally these wastes were allowed to be disposed in their own class of landfills because it was believed that they did not pose a serious threat to the environment. Construction and demolition debris landfills were constructed to less stringent standards than general solid waste landfills. However, abuses of the system, and new data showing adverse environmental impacts from C&DD landfills, have led to increasing regulations on the disposal of C&DD.
  
• Infectious Wastes may include things like hospital waste, animal carcasses, or any other waste with the potential to spread infectious diseases.
  
• Asbestos Waste: In the United States, many people are surprised to find that many states do not regulate asbestos the way they regulate most other hazardous wastes. This is because asbestos is fairly inert chemically, and when buried in the ground it poses a minimal environmental threat. In fact, asbestos was commonly used to filter beer in the brewing industry. The primary health threat from asbestos comes from inhaling the microscopic fibers deep into the lung tissue and mesothelium. Since the airborne threat is contained once asbestos is buried, many states allow asbestos to be disposed in landfills with general solid waste, provided the waste is handled with extra safety procedures.

• Chemical test
• Physical test

S.No		Parameter		Test Method.
Table -1
		Municipal Solid Waste
1.		Moisture Content, % by mass		IS : 9235-1979
2.		Total Volatile Substance, % by mass		IS : 10158-1982
3.		Ash Content, % by mass		IS: 1350 Guideline.
4.		Fixed Carbon % by mass		Lange’s Book Method
5.		Calorific Value (Cal/g)		Bomb Calorimeter
Table -2
		Inert:
1.		Moisture Content, % by mass		IS:9235-1979
2.		Total Volatile Substance, % by mass		IS:10158-1982
3.		Ash Content, % by mass		IS:1350 Guideline
4.		Fixed Carbon, % by mass		Lange’s Book Method
Table -3
		Kitchen Waste
1.		Moisture, % by mass		IS : 9235—1979
2.		Total Volatile Substance, % by mass		IS : 10158-1982
3.		Total Solid, % by mass		IS: 9235-1979
4.		Ash Content, % by mass		IS : 1350 Guideline.
5.		Fixed Carbon, % by mass		Lange’s Book Method
6.		Organic Carbon, % by mass		USDA Guideline
7.		Nitrogen, % by mass		Kjeldahal Method
8.		C/N Ratio		By Calculation
9.		Phosphorus, % by mass		USDA Guideline.
10.		Chloride, % by mass		Titrimetric
11.		Sulphur, % by mass		IS : 1448 (P-33)-1991
12.		Calorific Value (Cal/g)		Bomb Calorimeter
13.		Iron (as Fe), mg/kg		AAS
14.		Copper(as Cu), mg/kg		AAS
15.		Cadmium (as Cd), mg/kg		AAS
16.		Zinc (as Zn) mg/kg		AAS
17.		Lead (as Pb), mg/kg		AAS
18.		Nickel (as Ni), mg/kg		AAS
19.		Chromium (as Cr), mg/kg		AAS
20.		Arsenic (as As), mg/kg		AAS
21.		Selenium (As Se), mg/kg		AAS
22.		Manganese (as Mn), mg/kg.		AAS
23.		Mercury (as Hg), mg/kg		Mercury Analyzer
24.		Chemical Oxygen Demand, mg/kg		APHA, 21st Edition
25.		Bio Chemical Oxygen Demand, (For 3 days at 27°C, mg/kg.		IS : 3025 (P-44)-1993
Table -4
1.		Calorific Value (Cal/g), Organic Waste		Bomb Calorimeter
2.		Calorific Value (Cal/g), Flammable Waste		Bomb Calorimeter

Section 1-A
S. No		Types of Waste
1.		Wooden Pieces
2.		Paper
3.		Textiles
4.		Thermo Cole
5.		Straw/Hay
6.		Coconut Shell/Coconut Hair
7.		Green Leaves
8.		Green Matter
9.		Stone
10.		Brick
11.		Glass
12.		Rubber/Leather
13.		Polythene bags
14.		Plastics
15.		Vegetables
16.		School Bags
17.		Kitchen Waste
18.		Metals
19.		Batteries
20.		Flowers
21.		Hazardous waste
22.		Lime
23.		Human Hair
24.		Sand/Earth/Soil
25.		Dry Leaves/Dry Matter

Section 1-B
S. No		Types of Waste
1.		Dry Leaves
2.		Polythene
3.		Aluminum Foil
4.		Plastic Canes
5.		Paper
6.		Cooked food
7.		Fruit/Vegetable peels
8.		Vegetables

Section 1-C
S. No		Types of Waste
A		Net weight (kg)
B-2		Density of Total Waste (kg/m3) from Truck
C-3		Density of Total Waste (kg/m3)
D-4		Density of Kitchen Waste (kg/m3)

1		Fuel
1a.		Wooden Pieces
1b.		Paper
1c.		Textiles
1d.		Thermo Cole
1e.		Straw/Hay
1f.		Coconut Shell
1g.		Polythene
1h.		Plastic
1i.		School Bag
1j.		Dry Leaves/Dry Matter

2		Organics
2a.		Green Leaves
2b.		Kitchen Waste
2c.		Green Matter
2d.		Vegetables
2e.		Flower

3		Inert
3a.		Concrete/Stone/Bricks
3b.		Sand/Soil/Earth
3c.		Cement
3d.		Lime

4		Recyclable
4a.		Glass
4b.		Rubber/Leather/Tyres
4c.		Metal

5		Others
5a.		Dead Animals
5b.		Hazardous Waste
5c.		Batteries