Considerations regarding similarities and disparities of waste generation and treatment in the European Union

In the development of today's society, protecting the environment is an essential element for a sustainable economy. A priority place in the activity of protecting the environment belongs to the waste reduction process, which represents the major, permanent and sustained concern worldwide. In this context, the research aims, on the one hand, to highlight the evolution of waste generation and treatment in the period 2004-2020 for the EU member states, and on the other hand, to identify the similarities and disparities between these countries at the level of 2020. Time series analysis and the cluster analysis were carried out on the basis of 12 variables selected for the study. The obtained results highlight, on the one hand, the existence of a process of reducing the quantity of waste per capita, as well as the increase in the performances of the member states regarding their recovery and recycling, and on the other hand, it highlighted the existence of significant disparities between the member states regarding more chosen waste generation, which means that there is still a lot to be done for an efficient management of this process, and for achieving the objectives set at the level of the European Union.