Improper disposal of municipal solid waste can create unsanitary conditions, and these conditions in turn can lead to pollution of the environment and to outbreaks of vector-borne disease—that is, diseases spread by rodents and insects. The tasks of solid-waste management present complex technical challenges.

Municipal solid waste, nonhazardous solid waste that requires collection and transport to a processing or disposal site. Refuse includes garbage and rubbish. Garbage is mostly decomposable food waste or yard waste that is highly putrescible, while rubbish is mostly dry material such as glass, paper, cloth etc.

Waste disposal, the collection, processing, and recycling or deposition of the waste materials of human society. Waste is classified by source and composition. Broadly speaking, waste materials are either liquid or solid in form, and their components may be either hazardous or inert in their effects on health and the environment.