Within the context of its continuing work on changing consumption and production patterns, the Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) of the UN Department of Economic and Social Development is involved in issues related to various aspects of waste management and is interested in establishing closer cooperation with other organizations in this area. Waste management remains one of the priority areas for governments of both developed and developing countries, particularly in view of growing urbanization. This was emphasized again during the discussions of the Ad Hoc Inter-Sessional Working Group of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in New York in February 1999. A major contribution to waste management could be made by waste minimization and waste prevention through cleaner production, reductions in packaging, recycling and reuse, and consumer education and information. Dissemination of information on the effectiveness of various policy instruments should facilitate the wider application of such policies. We are surveying and assessing policy instruments, particularly for use in developing countries. The main efforts of DSD in this area focus on: • Policy assessment of efforts in dematerialization and waste minimization, including waste prevention and recycling. • Impact of urbanization in developing countries, particularly on waste management problems, and use of simple indicators as a basis for decision making and information exchange on low cost policies. • Further studies on cleaner production technologies and their transfer to developing countries.