This study related to the analysis of the physical (granulometry and composition) and chemical (organic matter, organic carbon and nitrogen contents) characteristics, as well as those relating to release (leaching tests and determining the methanogene potential) of several domestic wastes, with an aim of evaluating stabilization indicators. Values thresholds for a known stabilized waste were thus deduced by correlation (% paper-cardboard = 0-1; % volatile solid (VS) = 18-19; % OC = 5-6; % fines = 44-45; % degraded components = 75-76, COD of leachate = 141-155 mg O-2/L; DOC from leachate = 45-49 mg C/L and 0.9-1 m(3) CH4/t of dry waste). However, these values thresholds remain specific to the method employed for the analyses. The results obtained represent a considerable advance in the definition of a waste stabilized state and propose the importance of certain parameters, such as the paper-cardboard content and the measurement of leachates by using the SUVA index for determining a stabilization state. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.