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Recycling of Communal Waste: Current State and Future Potential for Sustainable Development in the EU

Author

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  • Marcela Taušová

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Eva Mihaliková

    (Department of Economics and Management of Public Administration, Faculty of Public Administration, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Popradská 66, 041 32 Košice, Slovakia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Katarína Čulková

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Beáta Stehlíková

    (BERG Faculty, Technical University of Košice, B. Nemcovej 3, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Peter Tauš

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Dušan Kudelas

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Ľubomír Štrba

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

The constant consumption of resources exerts pressure on the environment. In this sense, waste management has obtained increasing attention from the view of a circular economy. The European Union deals with these mentioned aspects, trying maintain long-term competitiveness and to provide sustainable development in accordance with all related environmental aspects. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the production of communal waste in 36 EU countries. The main aim is to evaluate the success of countries’ efforts to decrease waste production and increase recycling rates. The methodology used for the evaluation included data collected from the publicly available database Eurostat, consequent analyses and evaluation in the statistical software JMP 13 through regression, distribution, and cluster analysis, and the interpretation of the results. The results of the cluster analysis showed that despite clear EU waste management legislation, EU member states have significantly different waste management systems at the national level. However, generally, we could see positive correlation between the generation of waste and recycling rates. Although, Malta, Austria, Greece, and Norway recorded a decreasing level of waste recycling over the last several years, some countries (Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania) had significantly lower recycling rates accompanied by low landfill taxes. The evaluation of waste production and recycling can be used for government policy in the area of waste management, as well as for individual communities dealing with communal waste.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcela Taušová & Eva Mihaliková & Katarína Čulková & Beáta Stehlíková & Peter Tauš & Dušan Kudelas & Ľubomír Štrba, 2019. "Recycling of Communal Waste: Current State and Future Potential for Sustainable Development in the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2904-:d:233273
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Katarína Čulková & Marcela Taušová & Peter Tauš & Eva Mihaliková, 2023. "Development of Energy Recovery from Waste in Slovakia Compared with the Worldwide Trend," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Muhammad Nawaz & Muhammad Tariq Yousafzai & Tariq Shah & Chunlin Xin & Wisal Ahmad, 2021. "Sustainability of Recycling Waste Picker Sustainopreneurs for Prevention and Mitigation of Municipal Solid Waste in Swat," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-13, June.
    3. Chenyu Lu & Yang Zhang & Hengji Li & Zilong Zhang & Wei Cheng & Shulei Jin & Wei Liu, 2020. "An Integrated Measurement of the Efficiency of China’s Industrial Circular Economy and Associated Influencing Factors," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-21, September.
    4. Przemysław Zaleski & Yash Chawla, 2020. "Circular Economy in Poland: Profitability Analysis for Two Methods of Waste Processing in Small Municipalities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-26, October.
    5. Martina Novotná & Ivana Faltová Leitmanová & Jiří Alina & Tomáš Volek, 2020. "Capital Intensity and Labour Productivity in Waste Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Roman Lacko & Zuzana Hajduová & Marcin Zawada, 2021. "The Efficiency of Circular Economies: A Comparison of Visegrád Group Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-13, March.
    7. Vítor Domingues Martinho & Paulo Reis Mourão, 2020. "Circular Economy and Economic Development in the European Union: A Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-25, September.
    8. Andreas Fehr & Teo Urushadze & Nikolas Zöller & Béatrice Knerr & Angelika Ploeger & Hartmut Vogtmann, 2020. "Establishing a Sustainable Waste Management System in a Transitional Economic Context: Analysis of the Socio-Economic Dynamics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    9. Pina Puntillo & Carmela Gulluscio & Donald Huisingh & Stefania Veltri, 2021. "Reevaluating waste as a resource under a circular economy approach from a system perspective: Findings from a case study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 968-984, February.
    10. Michal Stričík & Monika Čonková, 2021. "Key Determinants of Municipal Waste Sorting in Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-26, December.
    11. Kamil Pochwat & Sabina Kordana-Obuch & Mariusz Starzec & Beata Piotrowska, 2020. "Financial Analysis of the Use of Two Horizontal Drain Water Heat Recovery Units," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Marcela Taušová & Katarína Čulková & Dušan Kudelas & Ľubomíra Gabániová & Ján Koščo & Ibrahim Mehana, 2022. "Evaluation of Water Resources through Efficiency Index and Water Productivity in EU," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-11, December.

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