Background The disposal of waste cooking oil into the environment causes problems for the proper functioning of water treatment plants, and for ecosystems in general. Indeed, oil discharged as wastewater requires a different cleaning process – involving a preliminary pre-water flotation-based treatment – in order to separate the buoyant material (oils and fats). However, this causes an overload of the water treatment plant and subsequent increased consumption of energy. As oil has a lower density than water, it floats over the water as a thin oily layer, forming a barrier that prevents normal oxygen exchange between air and water and thereby killing flora and fauna. If the oil reaches the surface of the groundwater it forms a layer 3-5 cm thick that moves with the water downstream to drinking water wells, making them unusable. At the same time, if dispersed into the soil, it turns into a very thin layer around the particles of earth, forming a barrier between the particles themselves, the water and the roots of plants capillaries, preventing the intake of nutrients. Objectives The RECOIL project aims to recover the energy from waste cooking oil (WCO) by creating a network for its collection. This will help to reduce its release into the environment. Following collection and storage, the oil will be mechanically treated to remove impurities (food waste, water, etc...) and to produce a fuel for use in an internal combustion engine in a combined heat and power plant in Italy (in the province of Grosseto). In order to achieve its goals, the project will plan, develop, test and optimise the various phases of WCO collection, storage and treatment. Specific project objectives are: To set up a door-to-door waste cooking oil (WCA) collection service; To develop software for the traceability and monitoring of the WCO collection and storage service; To convert the waste oil to a fuel through a low emission process, eliminating chemical conversion processes; To organise an awareness raising campaign on WCO recovery and on the environmental problems associated with its incorrect disposal; To create new jobs in the areas of WCO collection and treatment; To train municipal technicians in successful WCO collection and storage; To produce clean energy (electricity and heat) and reduce CO2 emissions. Expected results: The involvement of the populations of the provinces of Grosseto and Forlì (c. 227 000 and 391 000 people respectively); The collection of approximately 3 090 tonnes/year of WCO; The creation of new jobs for managing the collection chain; The extension of the collection service to the regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna; An increased volume of WCO collected and the construction of other combined heat and power plants; A new, monitored and optimized collection and storage system.