Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has become an issue of the contemporary times especially a concern in the urban environments of developing countries. Modernization and changing life style is contributing to this issue at large. Various aspects of MSW management in the Millennium City i.e. Cuttack, one of the commercial hubs of Orissa were assessed in order to formulate strategies so that effective management can be done. The city of Cuttack generates only 261 MT of Waste per day, which comprises of 128 MT of silt, debris and inert material and 133 MT organic and Recyclable waste. The sources of MSW were classified into different categories and sub categories. Samples of MSW collected randomly from the main dumping site of Cuttack, Chakradharpur and characterization was done. The municipality of Cuttack has adopted different methods such as door-to-door collection with segregation of garbage at source for effective MSW management .Composting, Vermicomposting of the organic waste included both aerobic composting and vermi-composting and non-biodegradable waste was picked up and recycled for the final disposal of MSW. However there are still many loopholes in the existing system of solid waste management for which the denizens suffer a lot of environmental problems. Community awareness programs, educating people regarding the problems associated with MSW as well as the significance of MSW disposal are important in sensitizing the people. However there are drawbacks in the existing MSW management practices, which need reformation.

Keywords: Municipal solid waste, Characterization, Disposal, Community based management of MSW