In the framework of the EU Directive 99/31/EC on the landfill of waste and the EU Directive 2000/76/EC on the incineration of waste there is a growing need for fast, easy-to-handle screening tools. In this respect, low costs, fast analyses, control of truck loads and yes/no-acceptance decisions are relevant criteria. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique meets these requirements as a screening tool for on-site verification on the landfill and for entrance control on the incineration plants. Recent developments of the XRF technology have made this technique a method of choice for on-site analysis, namely miniaturisation of the XRF system (X-ray tube), the optimisation of the calibration programmes and the improvement of the detectors. Therefore, a state-of-the-art document on the current progress of the XRF technology and instruments available for on-site analysis shall support the key arguments, dealing with the pro’s and contra’s, and the performance of these systems to be expected. The XRF standard EN 15309, is validated for Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, Te, I, Cs, Ba, Ta, W, Hg, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th and U, and describes in the informative annex the procedures for hand-held XRF systems together with the portable/transportable systems (placed in mobile labs). Although XRF can analyse a broad range of elements, the main focus of this document is on the series of elements that is also being covered by EN 15309. Of that series the following elements are related to the landfill directive: As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn. The information in this document will be useful in all cases in which on-site determination of the elemental compositions of waste is needed and hand-held instrumentation is therefore used. These cases may include, beside landfills and incineration plant, also waste treatment plants, contaminations soil sites and controls of transports of waste.