Solid waste should be characterized by their sources, types of wastes produced, as well asrngeneration rates and composition. Accurate information in these characteristics is necessary tornestablish proper waste management systems and for regulatory, financial, and institutionalrndecisions making. The lack of timely information about the generation and composition of solidrnwaste in Addis Ababa is one of the reasons among many for unsatisfactory solid wasternmanagement in Addis Ababa.rnThis research was conducted in Arada Sub City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to determine therncommercial solid waste, domestic and commercial solid waste generation rates and theirrnphysical and chemical composition in order to contribute to decision support in planning andrndevelopment of municipal solid waste management systems.rnThe study was carried out by classifying the whole commercial establishments population inrnArada Sub City in two five strata. Commercial solid waste generation and composition data wererncollected and solid waste management related survey was also conducted. The collected data wasrnanalyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science 10 (SPSS 10) software. Hand sorting wasrnused for classifying the collected waste in to the following fourteen fractions: Paper, Plastic,rnGlass, Metal, Food waste, Textiles/leather, Rubber, Wood, Yard waste, Inorganic, Electronics,rnPotentially hazardous Waste, Special waste, and particles less than 10mm. Proximate, ultimaternand calorific value were also determined in selected commercial solid waste fractions such asrnfood waste, yard waste, paper and textile.rnXrnThe study result shows that in Arada Sub City the estimated commercial solid waste generationrnrate per employee per day is 1.6 Kg and 4.9 lt by weight and volume respectively. And thernaverage commercial solid waste density is 323.4 Kg/m3. Total commercial and residential solidrnwaste generation rate per capita per day by weight and by volume in Arada Sub City is 0.55 Kgrnand 1.97 lt, respectively. And the density of commercial and residential solid waste is 277.7 Kgrn/m3.rnThe percentage composition of commercial solid waste fractions clearly shows that food wasterntakes the largest proportion of commercial solid waste and followed by paper, yard and plasticrnwaste consecutively, by weight and volume. This study also indicates the presence of potentiallyrnhazardous waste in the studied area i.e. 0.36 % by weight and 0.2 % by volume from the totalrncommercial solid waste generated per day.rnThe result shows that due to inadequate solid waste management system, Arada Sub City hasrnfaced a problem related to solid waste collection and disposal. The existing infrastructure forrnsolid waste collection in Arada Sub City is not proportional to the amount of solid wasterngenerated from commercial and residential source. In addition the number of municipalrncontainers and trucks for collection and transportation of waste is not adequate.rnIf composting and recycling are exercised in Arada sub city there is a possibility to reduce thernamount of commercial solid waste going to be disposed in the landfill from Arada Sub City byrn98.04 %. The energy value of food waste, yard waste, paper and cardboard from commercialrnsource is higher than their respective energy value from residential source. The C: N ratio of thernwaste is also suitable for compost making.rnThus based on the generation rate and composition of solid wastes in Arada Sub City integratedrnsolid waste management system which combines a range of solid waste treatment options likernsource reduction, composting, recycling and waste to energy transformation is recommended.