characteristics of MSW change with population density, as
shown in Table 3 and Table 4 (Garg and Prasad, 2003;
CPCB, 2000; Bhide and Shekdar, 1998).
From Table 2, it is observed that the differences in the
MSW characteristics indicate the effect of urbanization
and development. In urban areas, the major fraction of
MSW is compostable materials (40–60%) and inerts (30–
50%). The relative percentage of organic waste in MSW
is generally increasing with the decreasing socio-economic
status; so rural households generate more organic waste
than urban households. For example, in south India the
extensive use of banana leaves and stems in various functions
results in a large organic content in the MSW. Also,
it has been noticed that the percentage of recyclables