Background Waste management is a serious environmental problem in Europe. According to the EU policy, the main principles which should guide waste management are: minimization, reuse and recycling. With the recent EU policy on the environmental management of packaging wastes, the wastes important in volume are considered as priority waste streams. In September 1999, a destructive earthquake hit Athens (GR). The areas most affected were the Municipalities of Ano Liosia and Acharnes. One of the secondary consequences of the earthquake was the creation of vast quantities of demolition wastes from the unsuitable habitation buildings. In this context, the need for intensive efforts towards environmentally acceptable solutions concerning the re-use and recycling of demolition wastes has become evident. Objectives The objectives of this project included: • Demonstration of acceptable solutions for demolition waste. • Development of systems for the treatment of demolition waste, adopting state-of-the-art technologies. • Reduction of use of non-renewable resources such as quarries. • Evaluation of potential markets for recyclable wastes. • Utilization of inert material in a manner that may benefit the local community. Results The main actions of the project included: 1. preparatory works: a) Precise organisation and planning of the project b) Detailed engineering of the prototypes c Preparation of the construction works and the selection/procurement of the equipment d) A dedicated investigation / assessment of the types and amounts of C&D being currently discarded in the vicinity of the region concerned. 2. manufacturing / modification of the prototype equipment 3. construction of infrastructure 4. delivery and installation of equipment 5. operator training 6. operation of the plant 7. dissemination and evaluation of results. The plant operated for almost 5 months and processed approximately 30,000 tons of construction and demolition waste. It had a capacity of 300 tons/day. The products 0-16 and 16-32mm were given with no charge as temporary road construction material. Comments from end users were excellent. The ground product (siz