Background The EC Directive 91/156 on waste seeks to "limit the production of waste, particularly by promoting clean and recyclable technologies which are re-usable, taking into account the existing or potential sales outlets for enhanced waste,...". In France the regulations on waste management are subject to the Law of 15/07/1975 and the Departmental Sanitary Regulations, which forbid dumping in the countryside, burning in the open air and the burying of waste. The Law of 13/07/1992 also forbids dumping after 1 July 2002. Plastic waste is a problem on many farms. This waste is abandoned or buried in the fields, creating high levels of soil and water pollution and spoiling the landscape. Although it is illegal, this waste is sometimes burned, creating toxic fumes and polluting the air. The project fits into the context of the implementation of a system of enhancement and recycling of plastic films used in agriculture Objectives The aim was to set up a system of environmental management of agricultural plastic waste by: • carrying out sorting of plastic waste on the farm with GIS (Geographic Information System) monitoring; • encouraging the use of biodegradable plastics in agriculture; • optimising the mechanical collection of used plastics; • optimising the conditions for recycling and the yield; • creating a precise methodological guide; • transferring the method to other sites suffering from the same environmental problems. The partners were: • three industrial enterprises specialising in agricultural mechanisation and recycling of waste; • four agricultural equipment sharing co-operatives, representing 30,000 farmers; • one Portuguese partner. Expected results: • to create a specific waste management method; • to improve the recycling rate of agricultural plastics (at least 70 tonnes per operation); • to arrive at a method that can be applied to other sites with the same environmental problems, for example with transferability to a site in Portugal; • to communicate the results on an Internet site and distribute 120,000 copies of documents; • to increase the use of biodegradable plastics by 10%; • to create and strengthen local partnerships. Results The project was anticipatively terminated in 2005 further to bankruptcy of the beneficiary.