Assessing waste treatment efficiency of European Union countries
Environmental Research and Technology, vol.9, no.3, pp.513-519, 2026 (Scopus, TRDizin)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 9 Issue: 3
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.35208/ert.1569431
- Journal Name: Environmental Research and Technology
- Journal Indexes: Scopus, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Environment Index, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Page Numbers: pp.513-519
- Keywords: Data envelopment analysis, effectiveness, European Union countries, waste treatment
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Waste treatment is one of the most critical issues addressed by societies in alignment with their environmental protection and sustainability goals. The study seeks to examine the efficiency of European Union (EU) countries in waste treatment, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as the chosen methodology. The research investigates the relative efficiency of the 27 EU member states in the field of waste treatment, using seven specified parameters namely recycling, backfilling, landfilling, incineration, circular material use rate, gross value added in the environmental goods and services sector, the recycling rate of municipal waste. The study identified seven EU member states—Czech Republic, Spain, France, Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Sweden—as having efficiency scores below 1, indicating suboptimal performance in waste management. Countries identified as ineffective in waste treatment are analyzed in comparison to the benchmarks of effective countries, and target output values necessary for achieving effectiveness are determined.