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

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Taušová ◽  
Eva Mihaliková ◽  
Katarína Čulková ◽  
Beáta Stehlíková ◽  
Peter Tauš ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
National Level ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Current State ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

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.

scholarly journals Sustainable Technology in Developed Countries: Waste Municipal Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-55
Author(s):  
Carol Emilly Hoareau ◽  
Noraziah Ahmad ◽  
Maria Nuid ◽  
Rubiyatno ◽  
Dao Nguyen Khoi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste Management ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States

As more studies were conducted and global events unfold, a greater emphasis is being placed on the importance of preserving the Earth's natural resources and cycles before we face a catastrophic climate crisis. Thus, developed countries are constantly adapting their policies and legislation to promote green development for the sake of sustainable development, which benefits both the environment and the socioeconomic segment. As populations grow and living standards improve, more waste is generated. Appropriate municipal waste management is necessary to avoid harm to the environment, wildlife, and human health. Sustainable municipal solid waste management is even included in the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to improve the world's environment and economy. The European Union (EU) member states' waste management systems can be considered exemplary. In some countries, landfills have been prohibited, promoting the use of more sustainable technologies such as organic waste incineration, recycling, and composting. However, a divide exists between member countries, with some lagging behind in terms of waste management strategies. Thus, this paper examined the current state of municipal waste in EU member states, followed by a review of the various disposal technologies implemented. The difficulties and environmental concerns that must be overcome are discussed, as are the recommendations and possible future directions.

scholarly journals Municipal Waste Management in Poland Compared to Other European Union Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Poniatowska ◽  
Monika Kisiel ◽  
Damian Panasiuk
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Current State ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Municipal Waste Management

The paper discusses the current state of municipal waste management in Poland compared to other European Union countries. It indicates the amounts of municipal waste generated over the last few years in Poland and other EU countries. The paper compares waste treatment methods in Poland and Europe, such as recycling, composting, thermal treatment and waste disposal. An analysis of municipal waste processing installations in Poland is presented. The trends in the municipal waste management system in recent years have also been described. In the field of municipal waste management in Poland, there have been significant changes. The amount of waste sent to landfills has decreased, and the amount of waste recovered and recycled has increased. These changes are positive and reflect the development of municipal waste management systems in other EU countries. The article indicates the problems and directions of changes in the field of municipal waste management in Poland in the coming years, especially in the context of the implementation of circular economy assumptions and the goals set by the European Union in terms of increase the level of waste recycling and reducing their disposal.

scholarly journals Development and Structural Changes of Carbon Footprint in EU28

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4771
Author(s):  
Josef Slaboch ◽  
Pavlína Hálová ◽  
Adriana Laputková
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Topical Issue ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Index Analysis ◽  
Per Capita

This paper discusses the topical issue which examines the development of CO2 emissions in individual countries of the European Union (EU28) for the period between 2000 and 2017. Carbon footprint is monitored in four basic economic sectors of the EU28 countries—energy, other industries, agriculture, and waste management. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a structural analysis of the percentage contribution of individual sectors while determining the average conversion of emissions in tonnes per capita for individual countries, subsequently identifying the tendencies in the development of the detected rates. A cluster analysis for the EU28 that demonstrate similar carbon footprint values in the examined economic areas is conducted for the findings. The partial aim of the paper is to perform a comparison of the monitored countries and detect whether the differences between those striving for decarbonisation are diminishing. The energy industry is the most significant contributor to emission levels. The index analysis indicates that the level of emissions throughout the EU28 in all the monitored sectors has decreased, predominantly in waste management (by 40%,) which is followed by industry (17%), energy (by 16.2%), and agriculture (by 5%). The cluster analysis conducted for 2000 and 2017 has confirmed the convergence of the identified groups of the EU28. Individual clusters of the countries thus display minor differences and converge in general.

CLUSTER ANALYSIS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION GENDER EQUALITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 373-388
Author(s):  
Oksana Vinska ◽  
Volodymyr Tokar
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
And Gender

Purpose – The article aims at discovering classes and clusters of EU member-states considering their levels of economic development and gender equality to foster the enhancement of EU cohesion policy. Research methodology – The methodology includes the grouping by two parameters, economic development and gender equality, and the cluster analysis, the “far neighbor principle”, agglomerative hierarchical classification algorithm and the usual Euclidean distance as the distance between objects. Findings – There are no gender equality laggards among EU member-states. More developed countries belong to gender equality leaders, while there are two gender equality leaders and one gender equality adopter among transition countries. The group of less developed countries consists of six gender equality leaders and seven gender equality adopters. Research limitations – The results of cluster analysis may be impacted by off-shore activity of Ireland and Luxembourg. Practical implications – The EU supranational bodies can use our results to develop more efficient cohesion policy tools to ensure the adherence to the principle of gender equality. Originality/Value – The study is a pioneer one in determining nine classes and five clusters of EU member-states considering their levels of economic development and gender equality, as well as in introducing three types of countries depending on their level of gender equality, namely gender equality leaders, adopters, and laggards.

La complessitŕ dei mercati energetici e la necessitŕ di una regolazione multilivello

2009 ◽  
pp. 121-152
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Franco Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Multilevel Governance ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
The European Union

- The energy markets are very complex, because, on the one hand, they imply several different activities and, on the other hand, they involve various levels of govern- 183 ment. The energy market is divided indeed in different segments: supply (generation or purchasing), transmission, distribution and sale, which are allocated at different levels of government, from the international and European level (with reference to the security of energy supply), to the local level (with specific regard to the distribution and sale). This complexity makes the energy sector particularly critical, under the pressure of political interests and economical needs. Another sensitive point is linked with the environmental protection, since the consumption of energy is one of the most polluting human activities, and the demand of energy is growing up together with the economical growth of the developing Countries. This problem is increasingly discussed at the international level, with reference to the climate change issue, in order to plan a sustainable development for the whole globe: because of it, the Kyoto Protocol was issued within the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change. It establishes legally binding commitments for the reduction of four greenhouse gases for all the 183 ratifying Countries, according the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and provides for the promotion of renewable energy. The European Union ratified the Protocol implementing the relative obligations through, for instance, the creation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The European Union most of all addressed the competitive issue, since the 70s, in order to achieve the result to create a free energy market in Europe. The last results of the European energy policy were the directives on electricity and natural gas in 2004, that imposed the complete opening of the energy markets in almost all the European Countries (with few exceptions). The implementation of the European directives requires the intervention of the national level, since each Country has to modify its own regulatory framework, in order to comply with the directives. Everywhere in Europe, this process faces with several difficulties, but it is particularly hard in Italy, since the energy sector is traditionally public owned. Indeed, in our Country, the privatization and liberalization processes are strictly linked to another trend: the decentralization of legislative and administrative powers from the State to the Regions and Local Communities. Thus it is evident that the global governance of the energy sector, for its complexity and its sensibility, can only derive from a network of interventions by several levels of government, and different international, national and local actors, which realize a typical case of multilevel governance.Key words: Energy markets, competition, sustainable development, multilevel governance.JEL classifications: K21, K23.Parole chiave: Mercato energetico, concorrenza, sviluppo sostenibile, multilevel Governance.

The characterisation, treatment and sustainable reuse of biosolids in Ireland

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bartlett ◽  
E. Killilea
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Infrastructure Provision ◽  
Irish Government

Ireland is an island country on the western boundary of the European Union. A suite of environmental legislation over the last decade has combined to increase the amount of municipal sludge for treatment fourfold, while, simultaneously, eliminating traditional disposal methods. The Irish Government has instituted a comprehensive programme of policy development, infrastructure provision and drafting of “codes of good practice” to meet these environmental and legislative challenges. As the programme has developed, it has become clear that the sludge/biosolids issue shares many of the philosophical and logistical elements of other environmental issues that are developing apace in Ireland, including municipal waste management, agricultural waste management and overall integrated development. In many ways, it represents a model of the ultimate “sustainable development” issue. To provide specific data for decision making and policy/infrastructure/technology development, the Irish Government has funded a US$600k programme of research in The Characterisation, Treatment and Sustainable Reuse of Biosolids. The design philosophy of the programme is a “cradle-to-grave” approach, in order to integrate the outcomes of specialised research studies into an overall sustainable development model.

scholarly journals Efficient water management: an analysis for the agricultural sector

Water Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-416
Author(s):  
Vítor João Pereira Domingues Martinho
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
And Cluster Analysis ◽  
Efficient Water Use

Abstract Efficient water use in agriculture depends on a number of variables, from the farmers’ perceptions of these concerns, to the socioeconomic dimensions. In any case, it is important to bring about more insight into these fields, specifically to stimulate the design of adjusted management plans and policies which increase water efficiency on farms. These are relevant motivations to perform more research in these fields. In this framework, the main objective of this study is to analyse the water management efficiency of the agricultural sector in the regions (NUTS 2) and countries in the European Union. For this purpose, statistical information from the Eurostat was considered and an approach based on the Cobb–Douglas theory of production was used which combines DEA (data envelopment analysis) with factor and cluster analysis. Also performed was qualitative analysis with the Atlas.ti software. This approach that combines qualitative analysis with DEA–factor-cluster analysis brings new outcomes to the literature. The insights obtained from this study reveal that it is possible to improve water management without compromising the agricultural output and while still improving farmers’ profit. For example, in some French regions, almost 100% of the surface water withdrawal for agricultural irrigation could be saved.

scholarly journals Circular Economy as a Management Model in the Paradigm of Sustainable Development

Management ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eulalia Skawińska ◽  
Romuald I. Zalewski
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Holistic Model ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Current State ◽  
Model Of Management

Summary The following paper explores circular economy as a model of management within the framework of sustainable development. Its structure comprises 4 parts. The first part illustrates the role of sustainable development as an emerging paradigm in the theory of modern economics and in the recent policy of the European Union. In the second part, the authors demonstrate the applicability of sustainable development based on the relevant management models on the micro, meso and macro levels of economy. The third part discusses the concept of circular economy, in particular the various definitions of the phenomenon, its advantages over the linear economy, the role of innovations in its development and how to overcome barriers to its application. The fourth part outlines the current state of implementation of the circular economy in the EU in regard to its normative implications for the member countries. The conclusions close the exploration. The paper is theoretical, based on the review of the international literature on the subject. The unique contribution of the authors consists of the systematic analysis of the term circular economy as a holistic model of sustainable development and of illustrating the benefits of its promotion in the management practice.

scholarly journals A Process Oriented MCDM Approach to Construct a Circular Economy Composite Index

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Garcia-Bernabeu ◽  
Adolfo Hilario-Caballero ◽  
David Pla-Santamaria ◽  
Francisco Salas-Molina
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Composite Indicator ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Monitoring Framework

The purpose of this contribution is to develop a Circular Economy Composite indicator to benchmark EU countries performance. Europe is at the forefront of the global transition towards a sustainable and circular economy. To this end, the European Commission has launched in 2015 a Circular Economy Action Plan including a monitoring framework to measure progress and to assess the effectiveness of initiatives towards the circular economy in the European Union (EU) and Member States. Still, this monitoring framework lacks a composite indicator at the national level to aggregate the circular economy dimensions into a single summary indicator. Although there is a wide range of sustainability composite indicators, no aggregate circular economy index exits to this date. We use a multi-criteria approach to construct a circular economy composite index based on TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solutions) methodology. In addition, we introduce a novel aggregation methodology for building a composite indicator where different levels of compensability for the distances to the ideal and anti-ideal (or negative-ideal) values of each indicator are considered. In order to illustrate the advantages of this proposal, we have applied it to evaluate the Circular Economy performance of EU Member States for the year 2016. This proposal can be a valuable tool for identifying areas in which the countries need to concentrate their efforts to boost their circular economy performance.

‘Biodiversity damage’ liability in the Environmental Liability Directive – its definition and delimitation from more stringent EU, international and national norms

elni Review ◽  
2008 ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
Volker Mauerhofer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
National Level ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Environmental Liability ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Early Beginning ◽  
National Norms

The Environmental Liability Directive (‘ELD’) of the European Union entered into force on 30th April 2004 and had to be implemented by 30th April 2007. It had been already from the early beginning up to today subject to multiple considerations by many scholars and is implemented quite differently in the different EU Member States. The ELD contains provisions concerning the liability for ‘environmental damage’, which is further defined inter alia as a specific damage of certain species and habitats (‘biodiversity damage’). Besides the ELD there are already other legal provisions on the European as well as on the international and national level covering several aspects of these liability issues more stringently. Hence the question arises as to how the new provisions of the ELD delimit from these similar but other EU, international and national norms.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document