Background Although the management of waste continues to improve in the EU, the European economy currently still loses a significant amount of potential secondary raw materials, such as metals, wood, glass, paper and plastics. In 2010, total waste production in the EU amounted to 2.5 billion tonnes. From this total only a limited share (36%) was recycled, with the rest landfilled or burned, of which some 600 million tonnes could be recycled or reused. Turning waste into a resource is key to a circular economy. If the industries re-manufacture, re-use and recycle, and if one industry's waste becomes another's raw material, waste is eliminated and resources are used in an efficient and sustainable way (industrial symbiosis). Improved waste management also helps to reduce health and environmental problems, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and avoid negative impacts at the local level. Objectives The LIFE M3P project aims to promote and develop industrial symbiosis by connecting SMEs or clusters of SMEs to foster alternative uses of their wastes in line with the EU Circular Economy Package and the Resource Efficiency Roadmap. It aims to close the loop by identifying and characterising industrial waste, and turning it into a resource (secondary raw material) for another industry through the use of a digital online platform at the European level. This management tool, called M3P (Material Match Making Platform), addresses the lack of information about the industrial waste produced in a local area. It adopts a systematic approach, focusing on the life cycles of products and the material chain needed to make them. LIFE M3P will also demonstrate the feasibility of a more efficient use of raw materials by the systematic application of eco-design techniques to facilitate the recovery and re-use of parts that would previously have become waste. Specific project objectives are to: Close the circle and turn waste into a resource based on its characterisation; Match up companies to promote a local network that encourages material exchange; Demonstrate the usefulness of an operational web-based platform to foster the overall efficiency of industrial processes through the increased use of waste; and Promote two highly innovative instruments, namely Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Environmental Technology Verification (ETV), which are currently still at the pilot development stage. European initiatives, such as this project, are therefore really important in order to consolidate their use, validating the proposed methodologies and giving a European dimension. Expected results: One web-based platform (M3P) developed and implemented under real operating conditions in the four industrial districts by at least 10 SMEs; A waste database; A report on the main aspects and problems to be addressed to develop a local Waste Management System; At least 230 SMEs involved/interviewed (Lombardy: 100; Flanders: 100; Asturias: 10; West Macedonia: 25); At least 500 waste streams identified (Lombardy: 250, Flanders: 200; Asturias: 15; West Macedonia: 30), 100/120 material/scraps/waste investigated, 24 wastes deeply characterised, three sectors involved, 10 pilot cases, 40 companies implementing the proposed solution and four business cases implemented; At least 40 young designers involved during the product concept development phase; 72 new product concepts (16 for each area); At least four start-up studies (one in each area); Reduction of waste production at the target cluster of SMEs; Improvement of investments by companies engaged in the socio-economic aspects, such as training activities; and At least two other industrial areas/clusters in the EU, different than the partner ones, involved in the transfer of the web-based platform M3P.