Background and purpose: Physical analysis of solid waste is the first step in waste management. In Iran, no data is available about rural solid wastes in the country. The aim of this study was to determine qualitative and quantitative analysis of rural solid wastes in Iran.

Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, the data for national rural solid waste in 2012 was obtained from Iranian State Municipalities and Village Assistance Offices organization. Then the generation, per capita and physical composition of solid waste in rural areas in Iran were compared. Excel and SPSS V.17 were applied to analyze the data.

Results: The average solid waste generation per capita was 444 g per day and total wastes in Iran's rural areas was estimated at around 3.5 million tons per year. The majority of country’s rural solid wastes consisted of organic materials (52.53%) and plastics (16%) were the most valuable dry solid wastes.

Conclusion: By applying composting method, not only the fertilizing capacity of the waste is used but also leachate, offensive odor and toxic gas generation would decrease. Recycling of dry solid waste in rural areas would reduce their cost of collection and disposal and also increases the profit from selling recycled materials.