ABSTRACT
Economic development programmes in several countries not only depend on the trade in natural resources from other regions, but also the activities involved usually result in the production of hazardous wastes-which often could have global consequences. Even so, currently there is no comprehensive inventory of waste production, composition and disposal practices for the global community. This is due largely to the fact that only a few countries have a comprehensive system in place for reporting and/or documenting such information. In Europe, for instance, only a few countries have adopted regulatory requirements for industries to report on the amount of hazardous wastes generated. But, the most comprehensive assessment yet of Europe’s environment has confirmed the existence of serious environmental degradation in many countries in the region, especially in states of the former Soviet Union (Burke, 1996; Stanners and Bourdeau, 1995). Economic, social, technical and institutional issues will clearly affect how a specific region or country chooses specific policies with respect to waste management schemes.
