European Countries: Does common legislation guarantee better hazardous waste performance for European Union member states?

Assessing the relation between waste management policies and circular economy goals

The European Union has recently prioritized waste policies by embedding them in the new Horizon Europe work programme. Here, circular economy (CE) and digitalization are matching together in order to support all the industrial sectors in increasing their sustainability level. One of the main impacts expected from the EU is a better exploitation of wasted resources. However, waste streams are very different in terms of volumes, embedded materials and management policies. Considering only those waste streams with highest volumes, this study focuses on End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Starting from some policy recommendations and analyses identified through a literature review and the support of the experts, a survey has been conducted to identify the most critical items for each waste stream. Results of the survey show that, on the one hand, end of waste strategies has the highest importance for WEEE and ELV categories. On the other hand, social change has the highest importance for MSW. Consequently, end of waste strategies and social change should be considered as enablers of reuse and recycling practices in their reference contexts. In order to counteract the significant socio-economic issues already caused by delays in taking clear decisions about climate change mitigation strategies, policymakers should focus on these policy implications urgently if even more imminent environmental catastrophes are to be avoided.

Efficiency Assessment of Hazardous Waste Disposal in EU Countries: A Three-Stage Super-Efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis Model

Hazardous waste pollutes the air, soil, and water and adversely affects human health if not disposed of safely. Analysis of the efficiency of hazardous waste disposal is essential to sustainable development. This paper uses the three-stage super-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis model to measure the efficiency of 28 EU countries from 2004 to 2016. To ensure the reliability of the results, the article utilizes a one-way ANOVA statistical test to verify whether DEA results vary significantly across various EU countries. This article discusses "how inputs and outputs can be adjusted to eliminate inefficiencies" to suggest a targeted improvement. The third stage supper efficiency DEA results shows that the efficiency varies significantly across different EU countries. The main reasons for the low efficiency are high generated hazardous waste, management expenditure, greenhouse gas emissions, and inadequate waste disposal volume. Targeted proposals from three aspects are given for policymakers in EU countries: Build a resource recycling system to reduce hazardous waste. Establish a sound fee management system to reduce expenses. Optimization of disposal technology to improve incineration efficiency.

A review on vitrification technologies of hazardous waste

Vitrification technology provides a solution for the issue of safe disposal of hazardous waste containing harmful chemical composition and organic pollutants. This review discusses application of vitrification technologies to treat hazardous waste including, asbestos, fly ash, electronic sludge, nuclear waste, medical waste and radioactive waste. Vitrification processes via Joule heating, microwave heating, plasma technology, electric arc furnaces and incinerators are compared herein. Stabilization of hazardous waste can be achieved by vitrification with the addition of flux agents/additives. Furthermore, crystalline structures, containing the silicate-glass network, are formed as a result of vitrification, depending on the type of flux agents/additives used. In addition, the concentration of heavy metals can be degraded in the final residue and leaching resistance can be achieved. Moreover, energy consumption, pollution prevention and the foreground of the practical application of vitrification are discussed. Vitrification with the advantage of encapsulating pollutants from the hazardous waste is proven to be a promising approach for hazardous waste treatment.

Understanding Hazardous Waste Exports for Disposal in Europe: A Contribution to Sustainable Development

The concept of sustainable development was introduced in Europe by the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and was extended to waste management in the Waste Framework Directive. In order to achieve sustainable development, hazardous waste (HW) must be managed safely and in accordance with regulations. This also applies to worldwide HW transport, especially when HW is shipped for disposal. The United Nations, through the Basel Convention, aims to prevent the export of HW from developed countries to developing countries for disposal. In Europe, HW shipments are regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and by the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste. Additionally, all HW shipments must be in accordance with two principles contained in the Waste Framework Directive: proximity and self-sufficiency. Using data from 2014 and network analysis methodology, this paper fills the gaps in the scientific literature by looking at how shipments of HW travel for disposal in Europe, how the regulations affect these shipments and how GDP per capita influences the shipment of waste. The results show that countries with a high GDP per capita play an important role in the network (having the highest in-degree) and that the absence of landfill taxes for HW does not influence HW shipments for disposal. Therefore, countries in the EU act in accordance with the proximity and self-sufficiency principles.

Influence of environmental policies on waste treatment

Countries' growth along with the need to protect the environment has made waste management a major global concern. In this study, a detailed analysis is carried out of the current situation in 41 countries belonging to the OECD and/or the European Union, in order to identify the most sustainable practices that could be successfully implemented in other nations with similar characteristics. Cluster analysis is used to detect homogeneous groups, shedding light on the possible connection between environmental policies and waste treatment. Contingency tables are employed to determine the relationship between the effectiveness of the policies adopted and two indicators of sustainable practices: material recycling and waste generation. The study is conducted using statistical information from the Sustainable Governance Indicators project and the OECD, with data referring to 2018. Five internally homogeneous groups of countries have been identified, where Israel, Turkey and USA have the lowest participation and compliance in environmental policies. Also, the results show that countries with a high degree of participation in environmental treaties (Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland) are making great progress, reducing the use of landfills in favour of other, more environmentally friendly options. Moreover, the contingency tables confirm that the effectiveness of policies translates into a clear trend towards recycling and, to some extent, reduces waste generation.

Identification of leading hazardous waste generating industries with high improvement potential in Spain

This paper employs Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis to attribute total (direct and indirect) hazardous waste generation to the different industries and to connect total hazardous waste generation to the value added generated by each industry in Spain. In difference with previous studies we include all the industries of the economy and we focus on one specific type of environmental burden: the generation of hazardous waste. The results show that there is a very high concentration in total hazardous waste generation: only three industries accounted for almost 80% of total hazardous waste generation. This concentration also affects the type of hazardous waste generated. Thus, we find two main types of waste that account for 93% of total hazardous waste. Overall, the greatest hazardous waste generating industries are also the least efficient ones and exhibit a high improvement potential. Prevention measures directed to these industries should be implemented.

Optimization of Vehicle Routing for Waste Collection and Transportation

For the sake of solving the optimization problem of urban waste collection and transportation in China, a priority considered green vehicle routing problem (PCGVRP) model in a waste management system is constructed in this paper, and specific algorithms are designed to solve the model. We pay particular concern to the possibility of immediate waste collection services for high-priority waste bins, e.g., those containing hospital or medical waste, because the harmful waste needs to be collected immediately. Otherwise, these may cause dangerous or negative effects. From the perspective of environmental protection, the proposed PCGVRP model considers both greenhouse gas (GHG) emission costs and conventional waste management costs. Waste filling level (WFL) is considered with the deployment of sensors on waste bins to realize dynamic routes instead of fixed routes, so that the economy and efficiency of waste collection and transportation can be improved. The optimal solution is obtained by a local search hybrid algorithm (LSHA), that is, the initial optimal solution is obtained by particle swarm optimization (PSO) and then a local search is performed on the initial optimal solution, which will be optimized by a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm by virtue of the global search capability. Several instances are selected from the database of capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) so as to test and verify the effectiveness of the proposed LSHA algorithm. In addition, to obtain credible results and conclusions, a case using data about waste collection and transportation is employed to verify the PCGVRP model, and the effectiveness and practicability of the model was tested by setting a series of values of bins’ number with high priority and WFLs. The results show that (1) the proposed model can achieve a 42.3% reduction of negative effect compared with the traditional one; (2) a certain value of WFL between 60% and 80% can realize high efficiency of the waste collection and transportation; and (3) the best specific value of WFL is determined by the number of waste bins with high priority. Finally, some constructive propositions are put forward for the Environmental Protection Administration and waste management institutions based on these conclusions.

Performance in the treatment of municipal waste: Are European Union member states so different?

Efficient management and treatment of municipal waste is essential for achieving green growth. Recent studies have revealed convergence in European Union (EU) member states' performance in municipal waste treatment, particularly since the transposition of the 2008 European Waste Framework Directive into national laws. However, there are still notable differences between countries. In this paper, we calculate a composite indicator of performance in municipal waste treatment at the country-level. We also present an in-depth examination of differences in performance across EU member states. Our results show that the best performers-mainly high income Northern and Central European countries-treat larger quantities of waste per capita, mostly through recycling and composting and digestion. At the opposite end of the ranking, the worst performers-mostly poorer Eastern European countries-treat smaller amounts of waste per capita, largely through landfilling. Our main conclusion is that further policy measures aimed at reducing cross-country differences in waste treatment performance are needed in the EU.

Sustainable Waste Logistics and the Development of Trade in Recyclable Raw Materials in Poland and Hungary

This article aims to propose a methodological framework to determine the degree of the dynamic impact of the effect of activities in the field of sustainable waste logistics on the development of trade in recyclable raw materials in the chosen countries of the European Union, especially in Poland and Hungary. In order to determine the dynamic interdependence between the indicated phenomena, econometric tools associated with the vector autoregression model were used, namely: Granger causality tests, impulse response function and variance decomposition of forecast errors. The tools used will not only identify the direction of the causal interdependence between the effects of sustainable logistics activities and the development of trade in recyclable raw materials, but also allow to determine the strength of the interaction between these variables. The conducted research shows that changes in the environmental effects of waste logistics activities are the Granger cause of changes occurring in the trade of renewable raw materials, especially in Hungary. Considering adequately delayed values of the synthetic development measure of the environmental effects of waste logistics increases the accuracy of predictions for changes in the trade of recyclable raw materials.