Developed from papers and discussions presented at the International Symposium on Waste Mechanics, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, March 11-13, 2008. Sponsored by the Geo-Institute of ASCE.

Geotechnical Special Publication No. 209 integrates current knowledge of the properties of municipal solid waste and the challenges it presents with adequate guidance for researchers and practitioners who work directly with issues related to waste behavior. This collection broadens understanding of waste mechanics and improves waste disposal practices both domestically and internationally. The first section is a review of the state of the art in some of the most critical properties of municipal solid waste. The next group of papers attempts to reach some consensus or provide some minimum requirements or recommended procedures for waste characterization. The collection include five opinion papers submitted by the invited panelists from the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, Japan, and the United States.

GSP 209 will be valuable to researchers and practicing engineers in the field of waste mechanics.