Concern regarding the handling, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes is growing, as is the need to develop appropriate hazardous waste management strategies. Questions are being asked about suitable actions and available options. Emphasis is on the need for information and adequate management plans, and is prompted by recognition and better understanding of the threats and costs posed by such wastes in terms of human health, welfare, natural resources and the environment; exponential increase in waste volumes produced; increasingly limited availability of disposal locations; a growing awareness of the transboundary nature of pollution; and the emergence of an inadequately regulated transboundary trade in highly toxic waste material.