Organic wastes contain materials which originated from living organisms. There are many types of organic wastes and they can be found in municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste, agricultural waste, and wastewaters. Organic wastes are often disposed of with other wastes in landfills or incinerators, but since they are biodegradable, some organic wastes are suitable for composting and land application.

Organic materials found in municipal solid waste include food, paper, wood, sewage sludge, and yard waste. Because of recent shortages in landfill capacity, the number of municipal composting sites for yard wastes is increasing across the country, as is the number of citizens who compost yard wastes in their backyards. On a more limited basis, some mixed municipal waste composting is also taking place. In these systems, attempts to remove inorganic materials are made prior to composting.

Some of the organic materials in municipal solid waste...