Background The total weight of C&D waste generated within the European Union (EU-15) is estimated at 180 million tonnes per year. Plastics have been used on construction sites since the 1940s and more intensively since the 1960s. With a 20% share of plastics consumption in Europe in 2004, the construction sector is the third largest plastics user, after the packaging and household applications. Given the impact that the production of plastics and the plastic waste management have on the environment, this is far from a negligible proportion. Forecasts predict that plastic waste from C&D will reach 1,3 million tonnes in 2010, as opposed to 0,84 million tonnes in 1995! In line with national and European environmental legislation, more and more public authorities at local, regional and national level are paying special attention to the recycling and reuse of C&D waste. Some EU Member States have reached high recycling rates for the inert fraction, which is the main fraction of the C&D waste. Techniques to recycle the inert fraction are well established and high recycling rates can be reached. The iron is also recycled to a satisfactory level. As for the plastic fraction there are on the contrary, 1) few specific recommendations for the management of plastics in C&D waste, 2) little knowledge at local or regional level of local plastics recycling possibilities, the types of plastic that can be recycled, the collection and sorting methods available, recyclers’ quality requirements, costs and technologies, and 3) cooperation between public authorities, the C&D sector and plastics recyclers is generally poor. The result is that only 6% of plastic C&D waste is recycled in the European Union in 2003, 20% goes to energy recovery and 74% goes to landfill or is incinerated. Objectives The main objectives of the project were: 1/ To optimise the selective collection of plastic waste from construction and demolition (C&D) sites. Particular attention was to be given to the participation of local and regional authorities and the C&D industry, in order to take their needs and requirements into account. 2/ To disseminate at European level examples of sustainable management of plastic C&D waste. 3/ To evaluate the costs associated with the selective collection of these plastic C&D waste. Results The APPRICOD project began with a benchmarking on plastic C&D waste management in the European Union. Based on the experience of four frontrunners countries - Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands - this study showed the importance of legal and financial frameworks that stimulate the implementation of voluntary agreements as well as collection and recycling systems. Some of the most innovative sorting and/or recycling systems were presented for different types of plastic products. Pilot projects were then developed by the four local and regional authorities in Catalonia, (ES), Brussels (B), Ancona (IT) and Grand Porto (P). This approach encouraged a cooperation between: the C&D sector, the plastics industry and the public authorities. Once the sorting and collection methods had been determined, the pilot projects were implemented and their outcomes were evaluated. Conclusions and recommendations to local and regional authorities and to the C&D sector were drawn up. A number of initiatives were used to disseminate this information: Four local workshops, European workshop, website: www.appricod.org, guide entitled "Towards Sustainable Plastic Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Europe" (in 6 languages), toolbox for the C&D sector (in 4 languages), a leaflet providing a summary of the project. The APPRICOD project has highlighted the importance of plastic C&D waste and the challenges of recycling it. Several scenarios for the collection of plastics from C&D waste were analysed and tested, however one of the conclusions of the project was that there is no ideal collection and sorting scenario; a variety of collection scenarios should be available taking into account various parameters, such as space available on the site, the type of work (demolition, renovation, new building), the stage of the work (more packaging is used in the finishing phase) and so on. One of the aims of the project was to evaluate the costs associated with the selective collection of the C&D plastics. Quantitative data, including costs, were collected during the pilot projects but it was difficult to compare the data. One of project's recommendations was that in view of the high costs for the selective collection of plastics from C&D waste, incentives or regulatory measures or voluntary commitments should be put in place to create a favourable context to recycle such waste. Although, there is no direct environmental benefit linked to the project, it highlighted the importance of sorting and recycling C&D waste, and in particular the plastic fraction. The plastic fraction of C&D waste, although only a small percentage (± 0.5%), can be significant in terms of its impact on the environment. The presence of plastic in C&D waste also hinders the recycling of the inert fraction. A very large proportion of C&D waste is easily re-usable or recyclable (up to 95% inert fraction). Separation of plastics can lead to a reduction in the landfilled volume of C&D waste and the associated costs. These costs have tended to increase since the introduction of the Landfill Directive. Benefits of plastics recycling also lie in the savings associated with primary energy consumption. Replacing crude oil in plastics manufacture with recyclate, decreases the use of raw material consumption. Within the framework of European and national environmental and waste legislation, an increasing number of local, regional or national public authorities are paying more attention to the reuse and recycling C&D waste. At European level, there is no legislation directly related to the recycling or removal of plastics from the building and construction sector; the Landfill Directive is the most relevant piece of legislation for this sector. The pilot projects and the benchmarking study which was carried out in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark showed that the way the Landfill Directive is transposed can have a significant influence in favour of plastics sorting and recycling. The After LIFE Communication Plan indicated that the partners were to continue promoting the results of the project during conferences or any events related to C&D waste. The beneficiary also had plans to contact the Waste and Resources Unit of DG Environment with a view to discussing future activities that might be developed.