Understanding Hazardous Waste Exports for Disposal in Europe: A Contribution to Sustainable Development

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development was introduced in Europe by the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and was extended to waste management in the Waste Framework Directive. In order to achieve sustainable development, hazardous waste (HW) must be managed safely and in accordance with regulations. This also applies to worldwide HW transport, especially when HW is shipped for disposal. The United Nations, through the Basel Convention, aims to prevent the export of HW from developed countries to developing countries for disposal. In Europe, HW shipments are regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and by the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste. Additionally, all HW shipments must be in accordance with two principles contained in the Waste Framework Directive: proximity and self-sufficiency. Using data from 2014 and network analysis methodology, this paper fills the gaps in the scientific literature by looking at how shipments of HW travel for disposal in Europe, how the regulations affect these shipments and how GDP per capita influences the shipment of waste. The results show that countries with a high GDP per capita play an important role in the network (having the highest in-degree) and that the absence of landfill taxes for HW does not influence HW shipments for disposal. Therefore, countries in the EU act in accordance with the proximity and self-sufficiency principles.

Customs Valuation of Waste for Development of the Circular Economy

“…According to Weghmann (2023), the waste management system in the European Union (EU) is highly dependent on exports and imports, due to waste incineration. In the study of Callao et al (2021), the capacity of waste incineration is associated with high GDP, as countries with high GDP have better waste treatment facilities and more waste incinerators.…”

“…Too low customs duties for the import of waste can harm the environment and human health if the imported waste is not processed and ends up in landfills. However, researchers (Du et al, 2023;Callao et al, 2021) also note the positive aspects of waste imports that countries use waste recycling and incineration capacities, create more jobs places, and increase local economic growth.…”

Achieving Net-Zero Prosperity: How Governments Can Unlock 15 Essential Transformations

“…Behavioral change to incentivize the acceptance of circular economy approaches can be created through knowledge campaigns or nancial incentives for correct waste disposal as well as fees for incorrect disposal, such as land ll taxes. These need to must be implemented with caution to avoid adverse e ects, such as discouraging material recovery (Callao et al, 2021;Fletcher et al, 2018).…”