Integrated solid waste management can be planned for big or medium-sized cities. Although the principles used are the same, some of the waste system elements are more applicable in particular sized communities as shown in Table 11.1.
| Waste management component | Big cities (population above 200,000) | Medium cities (population 100,000–200,000) | Small cities (population less than 100,000) |
| Reduction at source | Highly applicable | Highly applicable | Highly applicable |
| Sorting at household level |
Applicable. |
Applicable, if the cities are close enough to manufacturers willing to take the materials recovered. |
Applicable, sorting would probably be limited to separating compostable wastes. |
| Reuse of items | Highly applicable | Highly applicable | Highly applicable |
| Recycling | Highly applicable |
Applicable if linked to big cities Can be promoted through small-scale recycling (paper for example) |
Applicable and can be promoted through small-scale recycling (paper for example) |
| Composting |
Applicable and can be scaled up at material-processing and energy-recovery facilities Can be scaled up by using the private sector/small-scale enterprises with subsidy |
Applicable and can be scaled up by using the private sector/ small-scale enterprises with subsidy | Applicable and can be scaled up by creating awareness and by organising small-scale enterprises |