Assessing waste management efficiency in the European Union: A focus on the Slovak Republic

Abstract

Even though every country in the EU must follow the waste management hierarchy stipulated in Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, there are differences in how the member states manage their municipal waste. For example, the percentage of recyclable and incineration with energy recovery of municipal waste is among the lowest in the Slovak Republic (and the high amount of its disposal by landfilling). However, following the European Union legislation, several strategies in the Slovak Republic, such as the Waste Prevention Program 2019-2025, Waste Management Program 2021-2025, and Envirostrategy 2030, have been adopted. Based on these strategies, the recycling rate is scheduled to increase to 65% by 2035, and the percentage of municipal waste sent to landfills is planned to fall below 25%. These projections assume the successful implementation of the programs. As a result, the Slovak Republic’s waste is significantly lower than that of other member states. When investigating the efficiency of municipal waste management, we utilised partial treatment-specific indicators and a composite indicator based on an approach known as the multi-criteria decision-making method. The highest efficiency of municipal waste management in the EU-27 in 2021, expressed by the composite indicator, was achieved by Germany (0.630), and the lowest performance by Malta (0.188). For the evaluated period of 2017–2021, municipal waste management efficiency improved the most in Malta (+28.4%) and deteriorated the most in Denmark (-20.8%). The broader implications of our research have shown significant differences in partial treatment-specific indicators across the EU-27.