The waste issue has now come of age. The techniques have evolved and industry is prepared. The French people have shown that they wanted to take part in separate waste collection systems and that they knew how to do it. All is change. Now is the time to make choices. These choices are rendered difficult by ingrained habits, the fear of higher costs, and the highly technical nature of the subject. Under the provisions of the law of 13 July 1992, landfilling will cease to be a normal method of dealing with domestic refuse as from 1 July 2002 and will subsequently be kept only for final wastes. The question is what will be done with these wastes of which nearly 50% are today still used for landfill. Every successive government since 1992 has made clear its determination to focus on actions aimed at encouraging recovery and recycling, because these wastes are also a source of secondary raw materials that local authorities and industry can and should recover, with four complementary objectives : — to preserve natural resources for future generations ; — to work for the environment ; — to create economic activities and jobs ; — to have our fellow countrymen take part in a beneficial collective action. This report does not claim to provide the answers to all the questions facing our elected representatives as regards the tricky problem of dealing with domestic refuse and ordinary industrial wastes. The answers vary from one region to another, according to the quantities to be dealt with, the type of wastes and the industrial landscape. This report describes all the techniques for treating and recovering domestic refuse and ordinary industrial wastes that are known and accessible today. It has been devised primarily as a guide to help decision-making.