Chemicals and waste play important roles in society and the economy but can also harm human health and the environment if not properly managed. A third of the world's food is wasted every year, totaling about 1.3 billion tons. The United Nations aims to minimize the adverse effects of chemicals on human health and the environment by 2020. To achieve this, UNEP is working with partners to build countries' capacity and policies for sound chemicals and waste management through increasing scientific knowledge and tools.

2. Both chemicals and waste play critical roles in today’s
society and economy. At the same time they have
major impacts on our environment and human
health. De facto, many chemical substances are
harmful to people and their environment while many
forms of waste result hazardous and pose dangers to
our lives and the nature surrounding us.
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4. The United Nations estimates that a third of all the
food produced in the world is never consumed,
making for a total of about 1.3 billion tons of waste a
year. In the United States alone, about 40 percent of
all food, worth an estimated $165 billion, is wasted,
the Natural Resources Defense Council reported in
2012.
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5. To address this urgent issue and provide mainstream
solutions, UNEP - also as an implementing GEF
agency - is working closely with governments,
industries, and civil society organizations. In doing so,
UNEP and its partners focus on achieving the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) goal
that by 2020 chemicals are used and produced in ways
that lead to the minimization of significant adverse
effects on human health and the environment.
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6. • To make this happen, UNEP’s Subprogramme on
Chemicals and Waste*
is implementing a threefold,
results-based management strategy targeting the
following Expected Accomplishments as part of its
Programme Framework for 2014-2017 and Programme
of Work for the biennium 2014-2015:
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7. 1. Institutional Capacity and Policy Instruments: to increase the
institutional capacity and policy instruments of countries to manage
chemicals and waste soundly, including the implementation of
related provisions in the MEAs;
2. Scientific and Technical Knowledge and Tools for Sound
Chemicals Management: to increase the use of scientific and
technical knowledge and tools by countries, major groups and
stakeholders, needed to implement sound chemicals management
and the related MEAs;
3. Scientific and Technical Knowledge and Tools for Sound
Waste Management: to increase the use of scientific and technical
knowledge and tools by countries, major groups and stakeholders,
needed to implement sound waste management and the related
MEAs;
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8. http://www.unep.org/ietc/Portals/136/Other%20documen
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