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Dynamics of Circular Economy Transformation Processes in Relation to Individual Waste Types Recycling – Net Zero for Sustainable Development
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Analysis of EU recycling data from 2004–2021 revealed statistically significant disparities in plastic packaging recycling rates across member states, with Belgium showing the highest improvement at nearly 1.1 percentage points per year. These findings highlight structural inequalities in plastic waste management that directly affect how much plastic enters the environment as potential microplastic precursors across different regions.
Abstract The main goal of the study is the quantification of the disparities in the recycling rates of the individual types of waste in the European Union member countries. The data on the waste recycling rates for the period 2004–2021 come from Eurostat. A linear regression analysis is engaged for the analytical processing. The outcomes confirm the statistically significant differences among the explored countries – the European Union members. The most extreme increases reach the levels as follows and occur in the particular countries. The plastic packaging waste recycling rate causes an increase of 1.0965 percentage points for Belgium, the metallic packaging waste recycling rate an increase of 0.7763 for Italy, the glass packaging waste recycling rate an increase of 0.9105 percentage points, and the construction and demolition waste recovery rate an increase of 5.5667 percentage points for Italy. These rates are important for achieving net zero. The study outcomes are desired for policymakers, authorities, creators of strategic development plans and methodologies to support global economy aimed at the circular economy strategies, sustainable development and economic growth. Setting an appropriate mixture of policies and regulations can determine outcome of the recycling procedures that is used for further processing.
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