This study has sought to provide answers to one basic question: What are themajor factors currently affecting industrial hazardous waste policy implementation incentral Thailand? To answer the above question, this research focused on two issues:1) identification of the factors which determine effective policy enforcement, and2) identification of the factors which influence effective policy compliance. Drawing upon various sources of scientific literature, a conceptual model ofindustrial hazardous waste policy implementation was gradually constructed. In thisconceptual model, effective policy enforcement and compliance is determined byimplementing agency capacity and the industrial sector's willingness to comply withpolicy. In turn, implementing agency capacity is influenced by six major factors:1) government policy commitment and continuity, 2) policy standards and objectives,3) policy resources, 4) implementing agency incentives, 5) coordination among implementingagencies, and 6) external supports. The industrial sector's willingness to comply isinfluenced by four major factors: 1) its environmental awareness, 2) itsenvironmental conservation incentives, 3) its environmental conservation expenses,and 4) its external supports. These hypotheses were then tested using both quantitative and qualitativeanalytical techniques. In the quantitative study, one set of questionnaires wasmailed to 150 government officials in the Department of Industrial Works and thePollution Control Department, while a second set of questionnaires was distributed to500 Type 3 (i.e. industry with the potential to generate hazardous waste) industryowners and managers in Thailand central region. By the end of the survey periodapproximately 75 percent of the public sector questionnaires and approximately25 percent of the private sector questionnaires had been answered and returned. The findings from the above inquiry resulted in the development of a new policyenforcement model that describes implementing agency capacity with far greateraccuracy than the original hypothesis referred to above. Indeed, implementing agencycapacity itself was found to be affected by five major factors: 1) government policy,2) leadership, 3) technical ability, 4) implementing agency incentives, and 5) publicconcern about hazardous waste management. Meanwhile, policy compliance was found tobe greatly influenced by the industrial sector's willingness to comply which itselfis largely determined by its: 1) environmental awareness, 2) environmentalconservation expenses, and 3) environmental conservation incentives. The nature of policy enforcement and compliance were also investigated. Policyenforcement was found to be limited by many factors, the major limitations being: 1)the lack of a specific 'hazardous waste' public policy, 2) the generally low policyimplementation capacity of the government agencies involved, 3) the shortage ofqualified policy implementors, 4) the inadequacy of compliance incentives, and 5) therelatively low level of environmental awareness on the part of industry owners andmanagers. Similarly, four, major factors were found to be largely responsible for theoccurrence of policy compliance problems: 1) a lack of environmental awareness on thepart of industry personnel, 2) a shortage of relevant information on hazardous wastemanagement and policy, 3) insufficient government incentives, and 4) the real orperceived costs of proper waste management according to industry owners and managers. Finally, this public policy study not only summarizes the major researchfindings but also proposes causal feedback models of policy enforcement and policycompliance derived from quantitative analysis, in-depth interviews, and participantobservations as well as making some recommendations with regard to public policyimplications, management options, and possible directions for further research.