Background Municipal solid waste management is a complex problem in Greece, particularly on the country's many islands. This is due in part to the islands' topography (steep slopes) and intense seasonal tourist pressure. Uncontrolled landfills are typically used for waste disposal, and cause pollution releases to air (biogas) and water (leaching), as well as fire risks. In the context of the new Waste Framework Directive, Greece must set up separate collections for each type of recyclable material by 2015, and by 2020, the reuse and recycling of paper, metal, plastics and glass from households must reach 50% of the waste stream by weight. Furthermore, according to the Landfill Directive, Greece must reduce the quantity of biodegradable waste going to final disposal by 20% compared with year 2000 levels, and by 50% by the year 2050. Current waste collection and management practices are not adequate enough to reach these targets. Objectives The objectives of the ISWM-TINOS project are to promote and demonstrate Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) to the municipality of Tinos and put into place the essential requirements for sustainable management of municipal solid waste (MSW) according to the Waste Framework Directive. The project intends to plan, design, operate and demonstrate an ISWM system that will include separate collection of recyclable materials – glass, metal, plastic and paper, as well as biowaste. To encourage separate collection of recyclables from MSW the project team will motivate the public to actively take part in the pilot collection scheme. It will also investigate and promote ongoing recovery operations that deliver the best overall environmental income. It will facilitate the separate collection and proper treatment of biowaste as an alternative to composting. The project will conduct a lifecycle assessment (LCA) of different types of biowaste treatment (e.g. aerobic composting; anaerobic digestion) with the aim of introducing an approach that takes into account the entire lifecycle of products and materials, not only the waste phase, and to focus on reducing the environmental impacts of waste generation and waste management, thereby strengthening the economic value of waste. Insight into how the ISWM system can be implemented on a full scale and identification of potential barriers will inform the design of and modifications to the system. The project will contribute to the achievement of targets set for biowaste going to landfill as imposed by the Landfill Directive. Measures aimed at ensuring source separation, collection and recycling of priority waste streams will be established. Information provided to local authorities will assist in introducing successful and cost effective organic waste separation and treatment schemes. A focus on reducing the environmental impacts of waste generation and waste management and strengthening the economic value of waste are further project objectives. Expected results: The project is expected to contribute to the implementation of the objectives and requirements of the Waste Framework Directive. These include the application of a waste hierarchy in waste policies; waste prevention; and implementation of recycling targets for household waste. This will be achieved through the planning, design, demonstration and implementation of an ISWM system in Tinos that results in the separate collection at source of glass, paper, plastic, metal and biowaste. Other expected results include: An LCA of composting and anaerobic digestion units; A physicochemical analysis and fuel and ash characterisation of the collected biowaste; Guidelines/suggestions for full-scale implementation of the ISWM system in the municipality of Tinos.