Abstract: An apparatus for baling municipal solid waste, characterized in that it comprises a waste compacting press composed of a compartment, which encloses a chamber, and is provided, in an upward region, with an opening for loading the loose waste, and is laterally provided with an axial opening for discharging the compacted waste; the upper opening is closeable by two articulated covers, subjected to the action of two pusher jacks to apply a pre-compaction pressure to the waste fed into the chamber, and the axial opening can be closed by a door against which the waste is compacted, so as to form a prism-like bale, by an axial jack, with an action line perpendicular to the door; the door can be removed to clear the axial opening and transfer the bale from the chamber into a sorting channel, whereat a pusher element advances the bale through a strapping machine adapted to place straps around the bale.