The use of addition reactions can allow for significant decreases in the waste generated intrinsic to the synthetic method.  By building up a molecule atom by atom or fragment by fragment you have the ability to use only what is necessary in constructing the target.  While it is essential to be thoughtful about not simply shifting the burden of waste from one step by using an addition reaction, to another step or another part of the process, wisely employing addition reactions has benefits over elimination and substitution reactions that inherently generate waste as part of the nature of the reaction.

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The value of the addition reaction can be translated beyond the molecular scale to use in larger scale materials and manufacturing applications.