Growth of population and consequently man-made products after the industrial revolution has caused solid waste to experience a distinct discrepancy in quality and quantity. Taking this fact in to consideration, the current methods and technologies wouldn't be able to solve the problems of solid waste management (SWM) in Iran. A gap of 70 years is existed between SWMS of Iran and developed countries. Thus the implementation of the so-called modern techniques in a country such as Iran must be dealt with more caution. The hierarchy of SWM in Industrial countries is as follow: 1-source reduction 2-recovery 3-incineration 4-sanitary land filling. According to this classification, Iran's provinces are categorized in to two different groups; the first group consists of coastal provinces (Gillan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan and parts of Khuzestan). Similarity in climatic condition in these provinces with those of European country like Switzerland, Sweden and some part of France as well as scarcity of appropriate lands for sanitary land filling make the mentioned hierarchy applicable for these provinces. The second group includes other provinces. Abundant appropriate land sites for sanitary land filling in these provinces fade the expensive alternative of incineration. Categorizing SWM in to different functional element, in this paper the modern applicable technologies in developing country are identified. Considering the characteristics of SWM like climate, physical and chemical compositions, socio-economic factors and laws and regulations concerned with SWMS in Iran, appropriate alternatives are proposed.
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