The objective of the study was optical characterisation of humic acids extracted from organic wastes. The study included wastes such as turkey manure, solid sludge from sewage treatment plant Hajdów, substrate after mushrooms growth and materials obtained after the fermentation of residues from a biogasing plant, as well as charcoal derived from biomass biogasing pyrolysis. The tested organic wastes were analysed for the content of organic carbon and for  their humification degree. The humification number of investigated wastes was obtained according to the Springer method. Humic acids were extracted from the wastes according to the Schnitzer method. The acids extracted were characterised in terms of their optical properties. A correlation was found between yield of humic acids and organic matter content in organic wastes and their degree of humification. The parameters q_4/6 for examined organic compounds were characterised to fulvic acids, and the values of ΔlogK indicated a low or medium humification degree.