There is a hopeful future for waste management in the new era of the year 2000 and looking forward to 2020. The experience of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) exemplifies the forward thinking of professional waste management practitioners. The ISWA, with 27 national members and over 1200 practitioners worldwide, links professional organizations such as the UK Institute of Wastes Management (IWM) with similar bodies in the national member countries to provide for the exchange of he latest information on global and local wastes issues. The Association also analyses the attitudes towards global waste management in order to provide expert pinion from experienced professional waste practitioners to assist in the dialogue with the policy-makers in various countries around the world. This paper, therefore, looks at the current situation in waste management, both nationally and internationally, and the problems that are being encountered. It considers the longterm impact of EU environmental laws on the European waste crisis and outlines the strategies that will be needed to deal with the waste management problems of the future.
