7 October 2013: UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have published ‘Guidelines for National Waste Management Strategies: Moving from Challenges to Opportunities,’ aiming to provide countries with a conceptual and methodological framework for national waste management planning. The guidelines represent an “early response” to recommendations of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

The guidelines emphasize waste as a resource with productive and profitable uses. The 102-page document set out a series of steps for the development of national waste management strategy, including: preparation through baseline information gathering and consultation with leaders; identifying fundamental elements of the strategy including the initial financing and resourcing options; engaging with all parties and securing political endorsement; situational analysis and gap identification, including technical infrastructure; and priority setting.

The publication was developed in the context of the Inter-Organisation Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC), which promotes coordination of the policies and activities pursued by the participating organisations to achieve the sound management of chemicals in relation to human health and the environment. [Publication: Guidelines for National Waste Management Strategies] [UNEP Press Release] [UN Press Release] [IOMC Website]