Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) face enormous pressure on the management of their resources. Lack of awareness and expertise are often major obstacles in achieving a better business strategy. Increasing customer pressure and the need to comply with regulations are also very strong drivers for the adoption of environmentally friendly procedures for the disposal of their wastes. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the parameters that interact in the implementation of environmental management tools taking into account the characteristics of SMEs. Particular attention is given to the management of packaging waste. General conclusions and further research are also mentioned.