Socio-Economic Determinants of the Packaging Waste Recycling Rate in the European Union

We develop this paper from the intention to identify the elements that can significantly influence the waste recycling rate in countries from European Union. We chose the waste recycling rate because it is one of the most supporting factors of the circular economy and sustainability ambitions. We observe that the European Union legislation and regulation generate significant differences between countries and have a strong impact in the waste management result, because of the institutions, structure, social and economic situation from each country. We consider that will be interesting to choose relevant indicators from areas like education, consumption, labor market and fiscality, and observe the influence and interaction with the recycling rate performance. We investigate how landfilling, education, income, consumption and taxes are associated with recycling rates using panel data for countries for a period of 10 years, more precise 2014- 2023. The number of years and the interval we consider relevant for our study because the analyzed factors are well documented in the European Union statistics. As a method we applied a pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model with robust standard errors with a focus on cross country relations. The study addresses three main questions: is there a connection between recycling rate and landfill, is level of education linked to better recycling rates, are economic factors like income, consumption and taxes associated with recycling performance. The study reveals that there is an association between recycling rate and landfill and between recycling rate and educational attainment. The environmental tax, household consumption and income don’t have a statistically robust relationship with the estimated specification. These conclusions make us understand that structural and institutional conditions have a stronger impact than macroeconomic factors and can influence recycling results. Putting together the social, economic indicators and waste management elements into a data panel, our paper brings a plus to existing literature and reveals interesting and relevant information that can support future strategies on the road to have a more circular and sustainable economy in European Union.