1. European waste management regulations and the transition towards circular economy. A shift-and-share analysis.
- Author
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Agovino M, Cerciello M, Musella G, and Garofalo A
- Subjects
- Solid Waste, European Union, Ireland, Refuse Disposal, Waste Management
- Abstract
Environmental legislation in the European Union (EU) aims to bolster the transition towards circular economy. However, a recurring limitation in EU regulations, encompassing not only environmental but also economic, social, and demographic aspects, is the lack of consideration for the unique characteristics of individual Member States when establishing common targets. The present work seeks to investigate the impact of EU waste management regulations on the attainment of circular economy objectives, taking into account national-level socio-economic and demographic characteristics. In order to do so, we employ Shift-and-Share Analysis, using data on 28 EU countries between 1995 and 2018. Our findings indicate that some Member States, namely Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Slovenia, effectively managed to align their regulatory frameworks with EU directives and create a socio-economic context where citizens and governmental bodies foster the necessary levels of cooperation. Cooperation in turn, with widespread pro-environmental attitudes on part of citizens, efficient waste management on part of specialised firms and proper oversight of waste collection activities on part of institutions, facilitated the achievement of significant circular economy goals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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