Promoting circular economy in EU: how to enlarge the recycling of e-waste?

• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Inês Susana Patrício
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/13872
• topic: Ambiente; Economia Circular; Reciclagem; Resíduos Eletrónicos; União Europeia; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia

Evolving from a linear economy to a Circular Economy is crucial to reducing environmental pressure. This transition is particularly relevant in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) industry. The waste from EEE, known as e-waste, is the fastest-generation waste stream, and improper disposal causes severe environmental problems. The recycling of e-waste is a solution to deal with the growing amounts of ewaste and thus, reduce the dependence of this sector on primary raw materials and increase the use of secondary raw materials. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the drivers and barriers to e-waste recycling, considering the economic, social, and environmental factors. To achieve this, yearly data from 2010 to 2018 for a panel of 20 European Union countries were analyzed employing a Generalized Method of Moments Arellano-Bond. The main findings suggest that the population's age distribution is significant in explaining the recycling rates of the countries. The elderly and young people negatively affect e-waste recycling, which could indicate their reluctance to change their unsustainable behavior. Thus, policies focusing on the elderly are needed to make them aware of the advantages and importance of recycling and improve their access to recycling facilities. Additionally, Gross Domestic Product has a negative impact on recycling, indicating that countries with higher economic growth may have an overconsumption problem, leading to replacement of equipment when it is still perfectly functional.