Blagoeva, N.; Georgieva, V.; Dimova, D. Relationship between GDP and Municipal Waste: Regional Disparities and Implication for Waste Management Policies. Sustainability2023, 15, 15193.
Blagoeva, N.; Georgieva, V.; Dimova, D. Relationship between GDP and Municipal Waste: Regional Disparities and Implication for Waste Management Policies. Sustainability 2023, 15, 15193.
Blagoeva, N.; Georgieva, V.; Dimova, D. Relationship between GDP and Municipal Waste: Regional Disparities and Implication for Waste Management Policies. Sustainability2023, 15, 15193.
Blagoeva, N.; Georgieva, V.; Dimova, D. Relationship between GDP and Municipal Waste: Regional Disparities and Implication for Waste Management Policies. Sustainability 2023, 15, 15193.
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between GDP per capita and waste generated in European Union countries, highlighting the importance of this relationship for understanding the environmental consequences of economic growth and formulating waste management policies. The analysis findings demonstrate that, in most cases, higher GDP is associated with higher amounts of waste, although there are exceptions to this trend. A smaller number of countries are also found where no such relationship exists. These are primarily high-income countries in the lower part of the EKC or countries in transition. Cluster analysis reveals regional differences in the relationship between GDP and waste that the economic factors and the level of development in the regions concerned can explain. Bulgaria is among the European countries with the lowest economic growth associated with a large amount of waste. The analysis, therefore, focuses on Bulgaria. The impact of GDP per capita, Human Development Index and Population Density on municipal waste in Bulgaria is studied. The aim is to identify significant relationships and dependencies between these factors and the amount of waste. Based on the results of multiple regression analysis and the findings from municipal waste management data in Bulgaria, specific actions are proposed for municipal waste management in the country. Recommendations are made for developing sustainable waste management policies and sharing best practices between regions.
Keywords
economic growth; environment; municipal waste; waste management; Bulgaria
Subject
Business, Economics and Management, Business and Management
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
