Background The tanning production cycle consists of four stages: liming, tanning, dyeing and finishing. The finishing operations are carried out by curtain coaters, roller coaters or spraying booths followed by a drying tunnel. The existing finishing plants have very low efficiency (85% of what is sprayed becomes a waste product) and have a negative environmental impact due to the dispersion of finishing waste. Spray finishing remains the most common method used by tanneries because of its versatility. A spray booth consists of a considerably large cabin which contains a rotary carousel equipped with spray-guns and aerograph systems; hides are manually placed on the wire conveyor belt by a worker and conveyed into the booth, causing the carousel to rotate and sprayers to start the application of a finishing coat. After this operation, the hides pass through the drying tunnel. The spraying pressure and the rotary movement of the carousel generate - both inside and outside the booth - vapours and fumes which are toxic and can affect the health of the workers. For this reason, noisy scrubbers have been added to the plant in order to remove particles from the suction airflow. Paradoxically, dispersion caused by suction produces further dispersion of the sprayed product and wastewater treatment becomes necessary in order to remove the high contents of particles, as the majority of filters use water. An unsolved problem is the volatile organic compound emission (V.O.C.) into the atmosphere, which significantly contributes to air pollution. Environmental problems associated with the current technology include: 1) High dispersion of finishing chemicals (75% of chemicals used). Pigments (both organic and non-organic ones), auxiliary products (polish waxes, top coats, wax emulsions, plastifying agents), synthetic resins, pigments and nitrocellulose binders are all toxic elements. 2) High production of V.O.C.s. 3) Sludge production from finishing wastewater treatment (estimated to be 200 kgs/day per booth). 4) High power consumption: a booth requires 20 kW installed power supply and uses 70%. 5) Noise pollution: the noise level emitted by a finishing booth is 86 db. The economy of Italy's Chiampo Valley is largely dependant on the tannery industry. SICA S.r.l, one of the tannery companies located in Chiampo is specialised in the skin finishing stage. Like many other industries, the tannery industry is under pressure to adopt modern environmentally friendly technologies which remove or reduce all the downsides associated with the current technology. Objectives The N.E.S.S. project aimed at improving the skin finishing phase in the tanning production cycle by innovating the spraying technology. The project was to test a new technology based on: eliminating the rotating structure for spraying, replacing it by linear bars; replacing the sprayers by aerographs, which were expected to be much more precise in spraying the colour; automating the spraying system. With the introduction of this technology, the following results were expected: reduction of finishing chemicals (95%); use of natural dyes; reduction of sludge from wastewater treatment (98%); reduction of power consumption (75%); reduction of noise pollution (87.5%); less water consumption for spray guns and scrubbers (95%); reduction of V.O.Cs. and possibility of their thermal destruction (95%). Results The NESS project demonstrated that the new technology is suitable for tanneries working in the finishing sector, both from a technical and economic point of view. The design and the construction phases of all the components of the NESS finishing line were performed with success. After the setting of new working parameters, and the implementation of specific plants for suction, abatement and drying, a complete leather finishing cycle was operational. The final tests showed that the objectives foreseen in the proposal had been reached: - a significant reduction in the use of chemicals for the leather finishing and consequently the volatile compounds (V.O.C.s), (up to 95%) - a reduction of solid waste (sludge) from water depuration, (up to 98%) - a reduction in the use of electricity, (up to 75%), and water (up to 95%) - a reduction in acoustic pollution (about 85%) - the innovative use of water based colours, instead of solvent based colours. Moreover, an improvement in the quality of life of workers has been reached: the acoustic pollution in the cabin has decreased considerably and the water-based colours are less toxic than solvent-based ones. The operating costs of the new finishing line are also lower than those of more traditional ones, as a result of savings in energy and water consumption and in the thermal-destruction of V.O.Cs. Furthermore, the time to complete a whole finishing cycle has been reduced. The quality of the final products is high and comparable with products treated in a traditional way. However, the water-based dyestuffs offer a lower range of colours compared with solvent based colours. Consequently, it is more difficult to sell the leather treated and this is one limitation of the new process. If the industry of colour producers could be encouraged to produce a larger variety of water-based colours, more aesthetic products could be produced. The NESS project is based on some of the BAT, which were developed through another LIFE project, the GIADA project (LIFE00/ENV/IT/000184). The uptake of the NESS technology and similar projects could lead to an improvement of the IPPC standards in the tannery industry. The demonstration value of the project is high as the technology could potentially interest all the companies working in the finishing sector in the tannery industry in Europe. This project has been awarded the title of "Best of the Best" from a shortlist of 22 "Best" LIFE Environment projects in 2008-2009.