Titled “Beyond an age of waste: Turning rubbish into a resource,” the UNEP Global Waste Management Outlook (GWMO 2024) provides the most substantial update on global waste generation and the cost of waste and its management since 2018. The analysis uses life cycle assessments to explore what the world could gain or lose through continuing business-as-usual, adopting halfway measures, or committing fully to zero waste and circular economy societies. According to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report, with municipal waste set to rise by two thirds and its costs to almost double within a generation, only a drastic reduction in waste generation will secure a liveable and affordable future.