A two-stage fermentation process, consisting of a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) stage and a dry methane fermentation stage, was developed to utilize garbage for the production of fuel ethanol and methane. Garbage from families, canteens and concessionaires was used for the study. Saccharification method was studied and the results indicated that the liquefaction pretreatment and the combination of cellulase and glucoamylase was effective for polysaccharide hydrolysis of family garbage with a high content of holocellulose and that SSF was suitable for ethanol fermentation of garbage. Ethanol productivity could be markedly increased from 1.7 to 7.0 g/l/h by repeated-batch SSF of family garbage. A high ethanol productivity of 17.7 g/l/h was achieved when canteen garbage was used. The stillage after distillation was treated by dry methane fermentation and the results indicated that the stillage was almost fully digested and that about 850 ml of biogas was recovered from 1 g of volatile total solid (VTS). Approximately 85% of the energy of the garbage was converted to fuels, ethanol and methane by this process. (C) 2009, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved.