Corporate development and human activity produce waste with different properties. The aim of this study is to identify the risks associated with the handling of selected categories of hazardous waste, to assess their significance and to put forward proposals for measures to reduce the most significant risks. Based on the analysis of the production of hazardous waste in the Slovak Republic, particular attention was paid to the risks arising from human activities in the handling of hazardous waste. Both statistical methods, as well as exact methods of multi-criterial decision-making (scoring method with a map of risk) for risk assessment, were utilized. The result of this study is the evaluation of the perception of risks in the handling of hazardous waste by the citizens of the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic and the subsequent comparison of the obtained results with those obtained through a multi-criterial decision making assessment method developed by experts based on practice. This study contributes to the extension of the potential scientific – professional platform and focuses on the risks subject to the degree of acceptable risk. The outcome of this study is the evaluation of the most significant risks and proposals for preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of the negative impacts caused by these risks.