With the rapid growth of population, development of different industries, and production of several ranges of products, the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been growing significantly in the recent years. However, if MSW is not managed properly, it can greatly contribute to an environmental crisis. In the present study, we aimed to examine the characteristics and quantity of MSW generated in Iran through a meta-analysis and systematic review. The major international and Iranian national databases including Science direct, Scopus, PubMed, Google scholar, and SID and Magiran were searched completely using appropriate keywords to identify the articles that have been published from 2003 up to November 2019 on the topic on interest. Based on the inclusion criteria, a number of 13 papers were found eligible to be reviewed in this study. The results showed that the amount of generated waste per capita in Iran is 839 g/capita/day. Moreover, organic matters, paper and cardboard, plastics, glasses, textiles, rubber, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), metals (ferrous and non-ferrous), wood materials, and other wastes were found to be contributed to 65.85%, 8.79%, 8.39%, 2.73%, 2.74%, 1.18%, 1.07%, 2.83%, 1.20%, and 5.22% of total MSW in Iran, respectively. Due to the high level of organic waste in MSW stream in Iran, composting program is recommended as a practical and beneficial approach. Of note, the recyclable materials include plastic, PET, glass, metals, and paper and cardboard have accounted for 24.05% of total MSW in Iran.
Keywords: Iran; Meta-analysis; Municipal solid waste; Quality and quantity; Recycling; Systematic review.