In PA, as in most other states, approximately 67% of landfilled wastes are organic materials, amounting to 1.25 kg (2.75 lb) of organic discards/person/day (or 6.4 ton/y  in PA). This material contains energy, C, and nutrients that could be recycled into soils, providing benefits to agriculture. Increased recycling of these wastes will require major changes in waste management approaches, policies, regulations, and economics. In 2006, with USDA ISE funding, a Cooperative Extension project was initiated to address this issue. Project goals are to transform organic waste management from a predominantly disposal based system to one that captures energy, organic matter and nutrients and recycles them to soil in a system that links and sustains urban and agricultural sectors in a mutually beneficial cycle. Local and county government officials, compost site operators, extension educators and farmers from PA visited Austria and Germany to study systems developed and implemented there that have achieved high recycling rates for organic materials. Of particular interest are partnerships between agricultural and municipal sectors in which source separate household organic and green wastes are composted or digested on-farm providing financial benefits to both parties, as well as energy, organic carbon, and nutrients for farms. The PA team is now developing a vision statement and plan that will adapt these techniques to PA, and will then undertake specific projects to implement their vision.