Background The environmental and health impacts of improperly managed waste are key concerns for our society. If not properly managed, waste can cause a variety of impacts, especially on human health and climate change. Improperly managed waste produces carbon dioxide and methane, both greenhouse gases (GHGs), which when emitted will enhance the natural greenhouse effect. Protecting the environment over the long term is the major challenge for waste management. Techniques must guarantee an environmentally sound and economically efficient treatment. In a global perspective, the EU is a major player concerning strategies of mitigation and adaptation to climate change, in coherence with the UNFCCC and the IPCC. In this context, efficient waste management may play a major role in reducing GHGs by following the 3 Rs: reduce, re-use and recycle. Differentiated waste collection is a mandatory target in order to achieve sustainable use of natural resources. Currently in Italy, recycling and energy recovery are not widespread mainly because of a lack of suitable collection systems, industrial recycling companies and societal awareness. Objectives The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the achievement of EU targets on waste management through awareness policies, training, demonstration and innovative actions. The project will use state-of-the-art energy-recovery systems to improve financial aspects and to foster the acceptance of recycling policies and investments. The project will monitor current collection systems within natural parks and identify critical issues. Building from this, it will design and demonstrate a sustainable, integrated cycle for waste management with particular focus on energy recovery. It will adapt and demonstrate an energy-recovery plant using state-of-the-art technologies for converting waste into power. Best practices for waste management will be promoted and disseminated through the project. Training will be provided to relevant stakeholders along with public events in natural parks and publications. The demonstration potential will be enhanced by the large availability of dissemination material fostered by the existing R21 network and natural parks. The beneficiary will also seek to raise general awareness of recycling and energy-recovery issues and promote sustainable tourism and the social importance of natural parks.