Final answer:
According to EPA guidelines, solid waste can be found in solid, liquid, and gas states but not in plasma. Plasma is not a common state of matter for municipal solid waste (MSW), which consists of discarded everyday items.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to EPA guidelines, solid waste legally can be found in all of the following states of matter except plasma. Solid waste refers to municipal solid waste (MSW), which consists of everyday items that are discarded by the public. The three states of matter that are commonly found on earth and associated with solid waste are solid, liquid, and gas. Solids have a definite shape and volume, liquids have a definite volume but take the shape of their container, and gases take both the shape and volume of their container. Plasma, however, is not a common state of matter for solid waste and is therefore the correct answer to the question.