Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Transition from waste management to circular economy: the European Union roadmap

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the last twenty years, the European Union (EU) has enhanced Waste Management (WM) strategies toward Circular Economy (CE). Starting from the previous analysis carried out by Fabrizi and Sospiro (Waste Management in Europe: A Comparative Study of the main EU countries: Methodology and Evaluation of Local Waste Management System, Lambert Publisher, Saarbücken, Germany, 2017), this article analyses firstly EU Member States (MSs) Roadmap toward Sustainable Waste Management (SWM) and secondly to CE. The research relied on Kirchherr et al. (Kirchherr in Ecological Economics 150:264–272, 2018) study which identified four barriers to CE (cultural, regulatory, market failure, and technological). The regulatory framework has been analysed. Four case studies (France, FR, Germany, DE, Italy, IT, the Netherlands, NL) have been selected to investigate: criteria, methodologies, policies, implementation and outcomes on SWM at national level. In addition, given MSs coordination at EU level the research aimed at analysing whether is there any convergence in terms of policies and achievements. The study considered recent findings on CE, Eurostat data, and Eurostat Circular Material Use (CMU) indicator. The analysis revealed SWM positive results, which seem to confirm a certain degree of convergence between EU-MSs that consists in a positive cascade mechanism from advanced toward less advanced MSs. In spite of this, EU countries need a further step in order to close materials’ loops. Larger quantity of Secondary Raw Materials (SRMs) should return to manufacture, and this requires stronger intervention that goes beyond the waste sector. In light of this, the EU Commission recently entrusted the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to assess and compare the environmental impacts of alternative feedstock for plastic products. This reveals EU attempt to re-balance the intervention on CE, by striving new products’ design approaches.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Source: Fabrizi and Sospiro, 2017

Fig. 2

Source: Institute for Sustainable Futures, 2017

Fig. 3

Source: Author’s elaboration from Eurostat, 2019

Fig. 4

Source: Author’s elaboration from Eurostat, 2019

Fig. 5

Source: Author’s elaboration from Eurostat, 2019

Fig. 6

Source: Author’s elaboration from Eurostat, 2019

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. According to Dir 2018/851 corresponds to “mixed waste and separately collected waste from households, and other sources that are similar to it, for nature and composition, such as “retail, administration, education, health services, accommodation and food services.”.

  2. This derives from its heterogeneous nature, the potential impact on the environment and human health, the influential political profile of the topic, and its connection to consumption patterns.

  3. 1) Paper, metal, plastic and glass household waste; (2) Paper, metal, plastic, glass household waste and other single types of household waste or of similar waste from other origins; (3) Household waste; (4) Municipal waste.

  4. According to (EEA, 2016b), French MSW is defined as: street sweeping; sewage sludge (not included in Eurostat data); garden and park waste from municipal sources; household waste (included waste delivered to recycling centres, bulky items, household hazardous waste and mixed and separately collected household waste); trade waste similar in nature to household waste.

  5. French collection services rely on three financing systems, depending on municipalities’ decisions. The TEOM, Taxe d’enlèvement des ordures ménagères, is paid by households but not strictly related to the use of WM services. It depends on councils’ discretion the decision to fund the service by using this tax. The REOM, Redevance d’enlèvement des ordures ménagères, is related to the use of WM services, and it is calculated on families composition, residential space or waste volumes. Finally, the municipal budget covers certain WM costs.

  6. The Triman Logo is a pictogram represented on products’ packaging or directly on products that indicates how to sort them correctly.

  7. MSW is defined as «waste from private households and similar institutions, as well as domestic-type waste produced by trade and industry». It includes «household waste, separately collected recoverable materials (glass and paper, packaging waste, organic waste and bulky waste)» (Dornack, 2017).

  8. The collection system is financed by citizens’ fees (household residual and bio-waste) while EPR schemes provide funds for the DTD and collection point of packaging waste (EEA, 2016c).

  9. It measures the relation between GDP growth and net waste volume increase.

  10. The Environmental Code has established that MWM shall be organized in regional plans and implemented by ATOs. They are, indeed, the managerial units which implement the plan designed by regions, and which ensure the attainment of separate collection targets. As a consequence, in cases in which the minimum percentages of waste collection are not achieved, ATOs will be fined. Specifically, «the payment has to be divided among the municipalities whose bad performances did not allow the ATO to meet the goal» (EEA, 2016c).

  11. The DL152/2006 Article 184 (c 2) also contains the definition of MSW as household waste included bulky waste, non-hazardous waste from similar institutions, waste from gardens, public parks and streets.

  12. The Landfill Dir was incorporated into Italian law in 2003 with 18 months of delay.

  13. 173 kg/person for 2008; 115 kg/person for 2011; 81 kg/person for 2018.

  14. The definition of MSW in the Netherlands mainly corresponds to household waste, which is separated in different categories, such as: vegetable, fruits, food, garden waste, small chemical residues (batteries), paper, bottles and glass, textile, furniture, wood, and metal (EEA, 2016a).

  15. On the one side, the collection of MSW is funded by local taxation. Municipal charging schemes has been a key measure to favour separate collection among citizens. For example, since 2015 the 40% of municipalities have introduced the PAYT system (Bilitewsky 2017). Other cities have instituted reverse-collection schemes, according to which the DTD collection of recyclable is intensified and, by contrast, the collection of residual waste is reduced or handled only through amenity services (Bilitewsky 2017). On the other side, the collection of municipal packaging waste is financed by fees deriving from EPR schemes. In 2005, indeed, the Dutch Packaging Decree conferred to producers the responsibility of the separate collection and recycling of end-of-life products’ packages. In this concern, in 2013 was introduced an EPR scheme for the management of separate collection of packaging waste (Bilitewsky 2017).

  16. Recyclable waste, which is collected through comingled systems, is subsequently sorted by recycling facilities.

  17. For example, in 2005 the German introduction of a landfill ban for untreated waste, mostly prevented the exportation of Dutch waste, which ended into incinerators. Then, in 2010, the EU defined a distinction between incineration for disposal and energy recovery. This allowed Dutch incineration plants, which produced heat and electricity, to be recognized as recovery installations. Finally, EU introduction of renewable energy targets enhanced the value of thermal recycling with energy recovery for the achievement of the national objectives (OECD, 2016).

  18. Eurostat calculated CMU referring to official statistics reported by MSs under legal commitment. There are comprised, waste statistics (data extracted from: env_wastrt), economy-wide material flow accounts (EW-MFA, data extracted from: environmental-economic accounts), and trade statistics (data extracted from: COMEXT website (Eurostat, 2018b).

  19. Exclusion of energy recovery and backfilling.

  20. Further details on the project are available on http://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/?page_id=1862.

Abbreviations

BMW:

Biodegradable municipal waste

CE:

Circular economy

CMU:

Circular material us

DTD:

Door-to-door

EPR:

Extended producer responsibility

EU:

European Union

GDP:

Gross domestic product

GHGs:

Greenhouse gases

GPP:

Green public procurement

JRC:

Joint research centre

KrWG:

Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz

MATTM:

Ministero dell’ambiente e della tutela del territorio e del mare

MISE:

Ministero dello sviluppo economico

MSs:

Member-States

MSW:

Municipal solid waste

MSWM:

Municipal solid waste management

MW:

Municipal waste

MWM:

Municipal waste management

NWMPs:

National waste management plans

PAYT:

Pay-as-you throw

RE:

Resource efficiency

SRM:

Secondary raw materials

SWM:

Sustainable waste management

WM:

Waste management

References

  • Agovino, M., & Garofalo, A. (2016). Effects of the environmental regulation on separate waste collection dynamics: Empirical evidence from Italy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 124, 30–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambiente Italia Work Group. (2008). Executive Summary taken from "Eco-Efficient Recycling: Economic, Environmental and Energetic performance perspective”. Milano: Edizioni Ambiente.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bilitewsky, B. 2017 40 years of source separation in Germany and its Future in Source Separation and Recycling, Springer, pp. 5–319

  • BMU (2018) Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, “Waste Management in Germany BMU, Division WR II 1, Dr Andreas Jaron, Christina Kossmann, Germany

  • Buclet, N. and Godard, O. (2000) Municipal Waste Management in France in Municipal Waste Management in Europe: a Comparative study in building regimes, Environment & Management

  • Castillo-Giméneza, J., Montañés, A., & Picazo-tadeo, A. J. (2019). Performance and convergence in municipal waste treatment in the European Union. Waste Management, 85, 222–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicconi, P. (2020). Eco-design and Eco-materials: An interactive and collaborative approach. Sustainable Materials and Technology, 23, e00135.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cobo, S., & Antonio Dominguez-Ramos, A. I. (2018). From linear to circular integrated waste management systems: A review of methodological approaches. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 135, 279–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M., Nugteren, H., & Janssen-Jurkovičová, M. (2008). Combustion Residues: current novel and renewable applications. UK: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Di Foggia, G., & Beccarello, M. (2021). Designing waste management systems to meet circular economy goals: The Italian case. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 26, 1074–1083.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products

  • Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste

  • Directive (EU) 2018/850 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste

  • Directive (EU) 2018/ 852 of The European Parliament and of The Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste

  • Domenecha, T., & Bahn-Walkowiakb, B. (2018). Transition towards a resource efficient circular economy in Europe: policy lessons from the EU and the member States. Ecological Economics, 155, 7–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dornack, C. (2017). Waste Policy for Source Separation in Germany in Source Separation and Recycling, Springer, pp. 5–319.

  • E Commission. (2017). Implementation of the CE Action Plan”, Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions COM (2017) 33 final) European Commission

  • EEA. (2016a). Municipal Waste Management: Italy

  • EEA. (2016b). «Municipal waste management: The Netherlands»

  • EEA. (2016c). Municipal Waste Management: France

  • EEA. (2016d). Municipal Waste Management: Germany

  • EIONET. (2012). Faactsheet for Netherlands. Available: https://scp.eionet.europa.eu/facts/factsheets_waste/2009_edition/factsheet?country=NL.. [Accessed November 2018].

  • EPRS. (2014). Briefing: Turning waste into a resource: moving towards a 'CE, (Prepared by Didier Bourguignon)

  • European Commission. (2018). A European strategy for plastics in a circular economy. (Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions No.

  • European Commission. (2016). A European Agenda for the collaborative economy. (Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions No.

  • European Commission. (2015a). Closing the Loop - An EU action plan for the circular economy (Communication From the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions No.

  • European Commission. (2015b). Implementation of the circular economy action plan. (Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions No.

  • European Commission. (2008). Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on Waste and Repealing Certain Directives.

  • Eurostat, 2018 Circular Material Use rate: calculation methods

  • Eurostat, 2018 Municipal waste statistics data extracted July

  • Eurostat, 2019 «Municipal waste by waste management operations »

  • Eurostat, (2019) Generation of waste by waste category. [Online]

  • Fabrizi, S., & Sospiro, P. (2017). Waste management in Europe: A comparative study of the main EU countries: Methodology and evaluation of local waste management system. Lambert Publisher.

  • Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, 2019 «Background: the development of waste policy in Germany, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.bmu.de/en/topics/water-waste-soil/waste-management/waste-policy/

  • Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (2019) The packaging Act has entered into force: less packaging, more transparency and recycling. [Online]. Available: https://www.bmu.de/en/press/press-releases/..

  • Fellner, J., Lederer, J., Scharff, C., & Laner, D. (2017). Present potential limitations of a Circular Economy with respect to primary raw material demand. Circular Economy, 21(3), 494–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halkos, G., & Kleoniki, N. P. (2018). Assessing 28 EU member states’ environmental efficiency in national waste generation with DEA. Journal of Cleaner Production, 208, 209–521.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, F. (2019). Circular business models: Business approach as driver or obstructer of sustainability transition ? Journal of Cleaner Production, 224, 361–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joint Research Centre 2018 «Technical Report, Environmental sustainability assessment comparing through the means of lifecycle assessment the potential environmental impacts of the use of alternative feedstock for plastic articles in comparison to using current feedstock ».

  • Kalmykova, Y., Sadagopan, M., & Rosado, L. (2018). Circular Economy: From review of theories and practices to development of implementation tools. Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, 135, 190–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchherr, J., et al. (2018). Barriers to the circular economy: Evidence from the European Union (EU). Ecological Economics, 150, 264–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korhonen, J., Antero, H., & Jyri, S. (2018). Circular economy: The concept and its limitations. Ecological Economics, 143, 37–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, H., Downes, J., V. K., & Young, G. (2017) Food waste opportunities within the food wholesale and retail sectors. Prepared for the NSW Environment Protection Authority by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney

  • Lieder, M., & Rashid, A. (2016). Towards circular economy implementation: a comprehensive review in the context of manufacturing industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 115, 36–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministere de la transition ecologique et solidaire, 2018 Roadmap for the Circular Economy: 50 measures for a 100% circular economy

  • Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del territorio e del mare 2017 Economico, Ministero dello Sviluppo, “Towards a model of Circular Economy for Italy: Overview and Strategy Framework

  • Ministero dell’ambiente e della tutela del territorio e del mare (2017) Economia circolare: l’economia circolare in Italia. [Online]. Available: https://www.minambiente.it/pagina/leconomia-circolare-italia

  • Ministry of the Infrastructure and Environment, 2013 Factsheet for waste and resource management. [Online]. Available: https://rwsenvironment.eu/subjects/from-waste-resources/downloads-waste-and/factsheet-waste/..

  • Nelles, M., Gruenes, J., & Morscheck, G. (2016). Waste Management in Germany: development to a sustainable Circular Economy? Procedia Environmental Sciences, 115, 6–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nußholz, L. J. (2018). A circular business model mapping tool for creating value from prolonged product lifetime and closed material loops. Journal of Cleaner Production, 197, 185–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD, 2016 Environmental performance review: The Netherlands »

  • Schroeder, P., Anggraeni, K., & Weber, U. (2018). The Relevance of circular economy practices to the sustainable development goals. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 1, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stahel, W. (2016). Circular economy. Nature, 531, 435–438.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steffen, W., Crutzen, P. J., & McNeill, J. (2007). The anthropocene: Are humans now overwhelming the great forces of nature. AMBIO A Journal of the Human Environment, 36(8), 614–621.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Testa, F., Iraldo, F., Frey, M., & Daddi, T. (2011). What factors influence the uptake of GPP (Green Public Procurement) practices? New evidence from an Italian survey. Ecological Economics, 82, 88–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, Ministry of Economic Affairs (2016) “Government-wide programme for a Circular Economy " A Circular Economy in the Netherlands by 2050

  • Van Buren, N., et al. (2016). Towards a circular economy: the role of Dutch logistic industries and governments. Sustainability, 8(7), 647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weghmann, V. (2017). Waste Management in Europe. Goods jobs in the circular economy,» Commissioned by European Public Service Union (EPSO)

  • Wilts, H. (2016). Germany on the road to a Circular Economy WISO Diskurs

  • Wilts, H. (2017). Key challenges for transformations towards a circular economy: The Status Quo in Germany. International Journal of Waste Resources, 07(01), 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elisa Chioatto.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chioatto, E., Sospiro, P. Transition from waste management to circular economy: the European Union roadmap. Environ Dev Sustain 25, 249–276 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02050-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02050-3

Keywords

Navigation