The study was conducted in an effort to consider not only the cost and immediate environmental impact of waste management, but also the extent to which material or energy can be recovered from waste, the markets for such recovered resources, and the use of federal procurement and other incentives and disincentives to encourage resource recovery. The amounts of combustible solid wastes presently generated by agriculture, industry, commercial and service activity, and households are described, and future waste flows from these sectors are projected. It critically reviews technologies that use or dispose these wastes, identifying the more promising ones. Finally, it examines governmental strategies to promote resource recovery or improved disposal, and recommends a preferred strategy for accomplishing these ends.