Background Objectives Results P.P.P.4I.RE. COLL increased the amount of waste separately collected in three municipalities in Liguria (Italy), namely, Savona, Genova and Albisola Superiore, including the separate collection of exhausted vegetable oil from households. To achieve this, the project team established an innovative collaboration model between public administrations and the private utility companies in charge of waste collection services, while in tandem raising public awareness about the recycling of vegetable oils. To initiate the innovative collection system, the project team installed oil collection points in schools, and other public and private locations that were easily accessible to citizens. Public collection points (260 litres tanks) were equipped with fire extinguishers and information panels, while smaller collection tanks (2 litres) were distributed via pupils at schools. The project’s website listed the permanent collection points in each municipality. Public authorities were responsible for the maintenance of collection points, while waste oil collection was managed by the utilities in charge of the waste collection services. The project team demonstrated tangible environmental benefits, through the collection of 17 228 kg of used household vegetable oil and its transformation into bio-diesel and glycerine. The project partnership developed an efficient information and engagement campaign to encourage citizens to accept the waste oil collection system and separated waste collections generally. The project focused, in particular, on students of primary and secondary schools and their families. This campaign created an education opportunity for the new generation to develop environmentally-sustainable routines and habits. Innovative strategies for raising environmental awareness, including a comic strip aimed at children, were implemented in Savona, Genova and Albisola Superiore. These achieved a positive change in citizens’ attitudes towards the separate collection of waste household vegetable oil. The project implementation contributed to an increase in the percentage of separated waste collected in the three municipalities. Building on the success in the three pilot municipalities, the project extended the collection of waste vegetable oil to a further 14 municipalities in the Liguria region, and to further types of waste, such as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), discarded sports shoes and mineral oil. An energy and environmental assessment conducted at the end of the project showed that the entire system is efficient, sustainable and viable from an economic point of view. The project applied the circular economy concept, by solving a waste disposal problem through transforming vegetable oil waste into marketable bio-diesel and glycerine. The project contributed to the implementation of a number of EU policies, including Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, which foresees at least 10% use of biofuel in Italy by 2020; the 7th EU Environmental Action Programme and the EU Circular Economy Package, by turning waste into new resources; the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Directive, by reducing pollution to help achieve good ecological status of surface and marine waters, respectively; and the Thematic Strategy on Prevention and Recycling of Waste (COM 2005 (666) final) and the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), in relation to the goal of recovering and recycling 50% of household waste by 2020 and, specifically, to Article 21 of the latter which specifically focuses on waste oil. The main message of the project for policymakers was that the P.P.P.4I.RE. COLL approach of using public-private partnerships for the separate collection of waste collection works well and can achieve good results. The potential for replication is considerable. The private company beneficiaries ATA and DP Lubrificanti extended the waste vegetable oil collection scheme to the further 14 municipalities during the project’s lifespan and, with the support of the stakeholder AMIU (the utility in charge for waste collection in Genova), to further types of waste. The project also demonstrated that an efficient and diffused information campaign can play an important role in raising awareness, resulting in good results in terms of separated waste collection volumes in municipalities. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).