Background The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Europe remains a challenge. Landfilling is still the predominant method for managing MSW in most European countries, resulting in the unnecessary waste of materials and energy, environmental pollution, and negative effects on health, quality of life and the economies of EU Member States. Of the total amount of MSW produced in the EU every year, approximately 40-60% is biowaste. The remainder is recyclable waste such as paper, metals and packaging. Biowaste, which has a high water content (65-98%), decomposes easily, causing many environmental and economic problems. The main environmental threat is the production of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG), 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). If the treatment of biowaste was maximized, associated GHG emissions, estimated at about 10 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2020, could be significantly reduced. Methods such as landfilling, incineration, composting and anaerobic digestion provide a limited solution to this problem. Objectives The main objective of the Waste2Bio project is to develop a method of producing bioethanol from biowaste via bioconversion. Specific objectives include: To design, develop, test, optimise and evaluate an innovative pilot-scale plant for the production of bioethanol from biowaste via bioconversion. This pilot plant will be able to convert more than 70% of the biowaste feed into second-generation bioethanol. The bioethanol will be used in place of fossil fuels. The pilot plant will be built in Athens; To significantly reduce the amount of household biowaste going to landfill, while reducing emissions to air, water and soil; To provide a template for the implementation of this innovative bioconversion technology in other municipalities in Greece and elsewhere in the EU, following an evaluation of the process's environmental, economic and technical viability; To identify key issues and indicators in relation to meeting the targets set out in relevant EU directives, such as the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EEC), the Directive on the Promotion of Renewable Electricity (2001/77/EC), and the Biofuels Directive (2003/30/EC), thus demonstrating in concrete terms how EU legislation governing waste management and biofuel production can be implemented. Expected results: A fully operational, pilot-scale, biowaste to bioethanol plant; Greater awareness and knowledge among stakeholders and the general public in Greece and the EU about the sustainable management of biowaste; Greater awareness of the use of biowaste for the production of biofuels and the potential to reduce the unsustainable reliance on energy crops; Publication of a report on the economic feasibility, and the environmental and social benefits of the pilot plant; An analysis of how the proposed waste-management scheme could be implemented at full scale, with comparisons to current methods of managing biowaste.