Solid wastes include all solid or semisolid materials that the possessor no longer considers of sufficient value to retain. The management of these waste materials is the fundamental concern of all the activities encompassed in solid waste management—whether the planning level is local, regional or subregional, or state and federal. For this reason, it is important to know as much about municipal solid waste (MSW) as possible. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the sources, types, and composition of solid wastes