This book is the second volume in the series of training manuals on developing integrated solid waste management (ISWM) plans. It aims to build the capacity of practitioners and policy makers for assessing current waste management systems and practices covering all the stages of waste management chain viz.: primary generation and disposal, collection and transportation, sorting and material recovery for recycling, treatment and resource recovery, and final disposal. The objective of the manual is to facilitate identification of important aspects of waste management system and gaps therein with reference to regulations, institutional arrangements, financial mechanisms, technology and infrastructure, and roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in the current system. The manual provides a methodology to conduct studies leading to collection and analysis of the information.