HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA: LESSONS FOR THE U. S.

California has what many say is the best hazardous waste management program in the U. S. In fact, the Federal government used the California program as the basis for a national plan for managing hazardous waste. Among key features of the California approach: a strong field enforcement program, a well-equipped state lab, a manifest (shipping-paper) system for tracking wastes from cradle to grave, and a program to promote recycling and resource recovery. Yet, the state is not without its hazardous-waste problems, among them: the difficulty in opening new hazardous waste disposal sites, the confusing maze of hazardous waste regulations and the locating and cleaning up of abandoned hazardous waste disposal sites.