Driving factors of e-waste recycling rate in 30 European countries: new evidence using a panel quantile regression of the EKC hypothesis coupled with the STIRPAT model

Boubellou a, Bilal; Kusch-B and , Sig id A icle — Published Ve sion D i ing ac o s o e-was e ecycling a e in 30 Eu opean coun ies: new e idence using a panel quan ile eg ession o he EKC hypo hesis coupled wi h he STIRPAT model En i onmen , De elopmen and Sus ainabili y P o ided in Coope a ion wi h: Sp inge Na u e Sugges ed Ci a ion: Boubellou a, Bilal; Kusch-B and , Sig id (2022) : D i ing ac o s o e-was e ecycling a e in 30 Eu opean coun ies: new e idence using a panel quan ile eg ession o he EKC hypo hesis coupled wi h he STIRPAT model, En i onmen , De elopmen and Sus ainabili y, ISSN 1573-2975, Sp inge Ne he lands, Do d ech , Vol. 25, Iss. 8, pp. 7533-7560, h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10668-022-02356-w This Ve sion is a ailable a : h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/308450 S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen: Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den. 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I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence. h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ Vol.:(0123456789) En i onmen , De elopmen and Sus ainabili y (2023) 25:7533–7560 h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10668-022-02356-w 1 3 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean coun ies: new e idence using apanel quan ile eg ession o  heEKC hypo hesis coupled wi h heSTIRPAT model BilalBoubellou a1· Sig idKusch‑B and 2,3 Recei ed: 28 Augus 2021 / Accep ed: 6 Ap il 2022 / Published online: 3 May 2022 © The Au ho (s) 2022 Abs ac Recycling o e-was e (was e elec ical and elec onic equipmen ) ep esen s an impo - an aba emen o p essu e on he en i onmen , bu ecycling a es a e s ill low. This s udy builds on common en i onmen al economics app oaches o iden i y he main d i - ing o ces o he e-was e ecycling a e. The en i onmen al Kuzne s cu e hypo hesis was applied in he con ex o he STIRPAT (s ochas ic impac s by eg ession on popula- ion, a luence and echnology) model o analyze da a om 30 Eu opean coun ies o e he pe iod 2008–2018. Panel quan ile eg ession was conduc ed o de e mine he ela ion- ship be ween e-was e ecycling a e and economic g ow h, popula ion, popula ion densi y, ene gy in ensi y, ene gy e iciency, c edi o p i a e sec o and e-was e collec ed. S ong e idence was ound ha he ela ionship be ween economic g ow h and e-was e ecycling a e is an N-shaped cu e, i.e., he e-was e ecycling a e i s inc eases wi h economic g ow h, hen dec eases in ma u ing economies and in ma u e economies s a s inc easing again as he economy con inues o g ow. In addi ion o he economic de elopmen s age o a coun y, e-was e collec ion was iden i ied as an impo an de e minan o he e-was e ecycling a e, ega dless o whe he he al eady achie ed ecycling a e was low, medium o high. In all models, a ise o he collec ed e-was e quan i y was linked o an inc ease in he ecycling a e. The e o e, expanding e-was e collec ion ep esen s a p io i y ask o policy make s o achie e high e-was e ecycling a es. Popula ion, ene gy in ensi y and c edi o p i a e sec o also had an impac and in endency displayed a nega i e e ec on he e-was e ecycling a e; howe e , he impac o hese a iables was mo e ele an o coun ies wi h pa icula ly low e-was e ecycling a es. Keywo ds E-was e ecycling· En i onmen al aba emen · En i onmen al economics· En i onmen al Kuzne s cu e· STIRPAT model· Panel quan ile eg ession * Sig id Kusch-B and mail@sig id-kusch.eu Ex ended au ho in o ma ion a ailable on he las page o he a icle 7534 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 1 In oduc ion Recycling, a cen al ci cula economy p inciple, deno es e o s owa d pu posely educing p essu e on he en i onmen . The ecycling a e commonly indica es which pe cen age o a gene a ed was e s eam goes o ma e ial eco e y schemes (Eu os a , 2021; Fo i e al., 2020); his cap u es p og ess owa d en i onmen al p o ec ion and sound esou ce manage- men . Coun ies wi h highe ecycling a es gene a e less was e (An oni & Ma ze i, 2019; Islam e al., 2019), emi ewe g eenhouse gases (Magazzino e al., 2020; Tu ne e al., 2015) and achie e mo e economic p ospe i y and employmen oppo uni ies (Di Vi a, 2001; Geo ge e al., 2015; Liu e al., 2020). E-was e (was e elec ical and elec onic equipmen ) is he as es g owing solid was e s eam in he wo ld (Baldé e al., 2015; Fo i e al., 2020), bu i s ecycling a e amoun ed o only 17.4% (wo ld a e age) in 2019 (Fo i e al., 2020), which was e en lowe han he a e o 20% in 2016 (Baldé e al., 2017). Thus, e-was e is a ma e ial s eam o high con- ce n. The g owing quan i y o e-was e is a symp om o inc easing economic p ospe i y because was e gene a ion is closely linked o economic weal h (Awas hi e al., 2018; Huis- man, 2010; Kusch & Hills, 2017), bu he ela ionship be ween e-was e gene a ion and eco- nomic g ow h is no necessa ily a linea one (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2021a). To sys ema ically unde s and a ela ionship be ween economic de elopmen and a pa ame e o conce n, a common app oach in en i onmen al economics is he en i onmen- al Kuzne s cu e (EKC) hypo hesis, which assumes an in e ed-U-shaped ela ionship be ween economic g ow h and en i onmen al deg ada ion, i.e., en i onmen al deg ada ion inc eases wi h economic g ow h up o a ce ain le el (called he u ning poin ) and hen declines as economic g ow h con inues (G ossman & K uege , 1991; Panayo ou, 1993). Solid was e has been esea ched unde he EKC hypo hesis in mo e han 30 s udies (Bou- bellou a & Kusch-B and , 2021b); i.e., in hese wo ks he p oxy o en i onmen al deg a- da ion was solid was e. Many o hese s udies ocused on municipal solid was e gene a ion, and he pic u e is s ill somewha agmen ed because no all con i med he EKC hypo hesis (Magazzino e al., 2021). When esea ching was e unde he EKC hypo hesis, nea ly all s udies analyzed was e gene a ion, while wo ecen wo ks used mismanaged was e as a p oxy o en i onmen al deg ada ion (Ba nes, 2019; Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2021b). As a pa adigma ic shi in how he EKC hypo hesis is used, a ully no el pe spec i e o he EKC amewo k has ecen ly been in oduced by Kasioumi and S engos (2020) who applied was e ecycling as main indica o , i.e., no pollu ion/en i onmen al p essu e was hei ocus unde he EKC analysis, bu e o s o mi iga e p essu e on he en i onmen . Concep ually, ecycling as a measu e o en i onmen al aba emen is he opposi e o en i- onmen al deg ada ion o pollu ion (Kasioumi, 2021; Kasioumi & S engos, 2020). This pa adigma ic shi in applying he EKC hypo hesis no o en i onmen al pollu ion bu o ecycling ep esen s a new and po en ially powe ul esea ch app oach o unde s and he economic elas ici y o en i onmen al aba emen e o s. Using solid was e ecycling da a om 50 US s a es o e he pe iod 1988–2017 in a semi pa ame ic pa ial linea wo-way ixed e ec s panel da a model, Kasioumi and S engos (2020) ound a J-shaped ela ionship (g ow h con inues bu a lowe pa h) be ween ecycling le el and GDP (G oss Domes ic P oduc ) o poo e and he iches coun ies and an in e ed-U-shaped cu e (g ow h un il a u ning poin ollowed by decline) o a se o middle- ich US coun ies. Whe he such economic phenomena also exis o he ecycling o e-was e as one o he mos dynamic solid was e s eams has no p e iously been esea ched. To implemen app op i- a e ecycling policies, he ac o s a ec ing he ecycling a e me i high a en ion. The e o e, 7535 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 his s udy aims o p o ide insigh s in o he main de e minan s o he e-was e ecycling a e. Eu ope is selec ed as he egion unde s udy due o good da a a ailabili y, a ela i ely high numbe o coun ies and he di e si y o he coun ies (income, e-was e ecycling a es); his egion includes bes pe o me s and low pe o me s in e ms o e-was e ecycling. O e all, Eu ope is he egion wi h he highes a e age e-was e ecycling a e wo ldwide (Fo i e al., 2020); o he Eu opean Union (EU28), Eu os a (2021), by compiling da a om na ional s a- is ics, epo s an a e age e-was e ecycling a e o 35.8% in 2015, 41.3% in 2016, 40.0% in 2017 and 42.1% in 2018. Panel da a om 30 Eu opean coun ies o e he pe iod 2008–2018 a e analyzed in his esea ch. This is he i s wo k o sys ema ically explo e he ela ionship be ween economic g ow h and e-was e ecycling a e; simul aneously, u he independen a iables a e conside ed o comp ehensi ely cap u e he d i e s o he e-was e ecycling a e. Fo his pu pose, e-was e ecycling is s udied unde an EKC amewo k in which he widely used STIRPAT app oach is applied o cap u e he d i ing ac o s o he ecycling a e. The EKC app oach allows o examine o a po en ially nonlinea ela ionship be ween economic g ow h and ecycling a e. Quan ile eg ession o panel da a (QRPD) wi h non-addi i e ixed e ec s, p oposed by Powell (2016), is used as econome ic me hod. QRPD is mo e powe ul han adi ional app oaches: (1) i p o ides obus esul s e en i he da a se con ains ou lie s and (2) i p o ides app op i- a e esul s when he independen a iables ha e di e en e ec s a a ious poin s o he con- di ional dis ibu ion o he dependen a iable, while adi ional app oaches ocus only on he mean e ec . 2 Li e a u e e iew andbackg ound in o ma ion 2.1 IPAT andSTIRPAT ocap u e hed i e s o en i onmen al p essu e The IPAT model p oposed by Eh lich and Hold en (1971) has been ex ensi ely used o explo e he main de e minan s o en i onmen al p essu e. This model (Eq.1) assumes ha impac (I) on he en i onmen (e.g., pollu ion) mainly comes om h ee ac o s: popula ion size (P); a luence (A, commonly de ined as GDP pe capi a); and echnology (T). This implies a p opo ional ela ionship be ween en i onmen al p essu e and i s d i ing o ces. To quan i y he ole o indi idual d i e s, such a simple assump ion o equally impac - ul de e minan s is a ely su icien (Vélez-Henao e  al., 2019). As a mo e comp ehensi e app oach, Die z and Rosa (1997) de eloped he STIRPAT (s ochas ic impac s by eg ession on popula ion, a luence and echnology) model, which is he s ochas ic o m o IPAT. The s anda d STIRPAT model has he ollowing o m: whe e su ixes i and ep esen uni o obse a ion (e.g., coun y) and ime (yea ); I, P, A and T a e he same as in Eq.(1); a is he cons an e m; b, c and d a e he coe icien s o P, A and T; and e is he e o e m. By adding loga i hms o bo h sides o Eq.(2), he STIR- PAT equa ion akes he ollowing o m: (1) I=P×A×T (2) I i =a×P b i ×A c i ×T d i × e (3) ln I i =a+b ( ln P i ) +c ( ln A i ) +d ( ln T i ) +e i 7536 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 STIRPAT, ini ially used in he na u al sciences such as biology and physics, has been applied o a b oad ange o a eas o e he las 20yea s, including en i onmen al econom- ics, sociology, enginee ing, inance and ma ke ing (Kilbou ne & Thy o , 2020). Examining he SCOPUS da abase in 2019, Hashmi and Alam (2019) documen ed a ound 1300 a icles wo king wi h STIRPAT, wi h hal o hese published du ing he las h ee yea s o analysis. Mos STIRPAT s udies used pollu an emissions as indica o o en i onmen al deg ada ion (Vélez-Henao e al., 2019), bu some ew success ully applied solid was e gene a ion (A bulu e al., 2016; Cheng e al., 2020; Fische -Kowalski & Amann, 2001; Han e al., 2020); none used e-was e. 2.2 En i onmen al Kuzne s cu e hypo hesis (EKC) oexplo e he ela ionship be weenen i onmen al deg ada ion andeconomic g ow h IPAT and STIRPAT ocus on he d i e s o en i onmen al p essu e bu do no model he economic pa e n o en i onmen al deg ada ion (de elopmen o en i onmen al deg ada- ion along economic g ow h). A common app oach o exp ess he ela ionship be ween eco- nomic g ow h and en i onmen al deg ada ion is he en i onmen al Kuzne s cu e (EKC). A e iew o Asumadu and Vladimi (2019), using Web o Science as da abase, ound 2341 EKC s udies published be ween 1993 and 2018; his high numbe o s udies indica es he p oduc i i y o his app oach o cap u e he economic pa e ns o en i onmen al p essu e. The EKC is de i ed om he heo y p oposed by Kuzne s (1955). Kuzne s pos ula ed an in e ed-U-shaped cu e be ween economic g ow h and inequali y; he obse ed inc easing income inequali y in he i s s ages o economic de elopmen bu a dec ease when income pe capi a eached a ce ain le el ( u ning poin ). Based on his pa e n be ween economic g ow h and a pa ame e o conce n, G ossman and K uege (1991) ans e ed he Kuzne s hypo hesis o he en i onmen al ield and p oposed he EKC: I assumes en i onmen- al deg ada ion ge s wo se du ing ea ly s ages o economic de elopmen bu hen s a s imp o ing when income eaches a u ning poin and g ows u he (in e ed-U-shaped cu e be ween en i onmen al deg ada ion and economic g ow h). Ea ly applica ions o he EKC hypo hesis mainly ocused on di ec pollu an s such as sul u dioxide o emission o pa icula e ma e , while since he 2000s many s ud- ies add essed g eenhouse gas emissions (CO2 emissions) and explici ly included ela ed pa ame e s such as ene gy consump ion o enewable ene gy consump ion (Pa a, 2018a; Pa a & Cagla , 2021; Thio e al., 2021). Mo e complex pa ame e s such as seawa e quali y (Wang e al., 2019), indus ial was ewa e discha ge (Diao e al., 2009), ecological oo p in (Al-Mulali e al., 2015; Pa a, 2021) o wa e oo p in (Seb i, 2015) ha e also been used as a p oxy o en i onmen al deg ada ion in he las wo decades. I is well acknowledged in he EKC li e a u e ha income is no he only ac o a ec ing en i onmen al deg ada ion, and hus, i is common o include u he ele an explana o y a iables o con ol a i- ables such as ade openness, indus ializa ion, impo , expo , capi al, labo , globaliza ion, u baniza ion o echnological de elopmen (Alla d e al., 2018; Pa a, 2018b). G ossman and K uege (1995) and Panayo ou (1997) a gued he ela ionship be ween economic de elopmen and en i onmen al deg ada ion migh be N-shaped a he han in e ed-U-shaped; in such case, en i onmen al deg ada ion would inc ease again a a high le el o economic p ospe i y (called second u ning poin ). The basic EKC model is cap u ed h ough he ollowing equa ion: (4) I=𝛼0+𝛼1(GDP.cap)+𝛼2(GDP.cap)2+𝛼3(GDP.cap)3+𝛼4X+𝜀 7537 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 whe e I ep esen s he indica o o en i onmen al p essu e, GDP.cap is he g oss domes ic p oduc pe capi a and X e e s o con ol a iables and ε is he e o e m. Based on he ma hema ical signs o he coe icien s α o he GDP.cap e ms (i.e., α1, α2, α3), he na u e o he ela ionship be ween income pe capi a and en i onmen al p essu e can be iden i ied: I α1 = α2 = α3 = 0, he e is no ela ionship. I α1 > 0 and α2 = α3 = 0, he e is a mono onically inc easing linea ela ionship. I α1 < 0 and α2 = α3 = 0, he e is a mono onically dec easing linea ela ionship. I α1 > 0 and α2 < 0 and α3 = 0, he e is an in e ed-U-shaped ela ionship. I α1 < 0 and α2 > 0 and α3 = 0, he e is a U-shaped ela ionship. I α1 > 0 and α2 < 0 and α3 > 0, he e is an N-shaped ela ionship. I α1 < 0 and α2 > 0 and α3 < 0, he e is an in e ed N-shaped ela ionship. An in e ed-U-shaped cu e has equen ly been epo ed in he EKC li e a u e; mos o he mo e han 2000 p e ious s udies used a mosphe ic pollu ion such as ca bon dioxide, sul u dioxide and g eenhouse gas as p oxy o en i onmen al deg ada ion (Asumadu & Vladimi , 2019). An N-shaped ela ionship has been epo ed in some wo ks, based on analyzing ai pollu ion pa ame e s, e.g., sul u dioxide, ine smoke and suspended pa icles (G ossman & K uege , 1991, 1995) o wa e oo p in (Seb i, 2015). Solid was e (was e Kuzne s cu e), such as municipal solid was e, plas ic was e and indus- ial was e, has been used in a ound 30 EKC s udies (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2021b), and esul s a e inconclusi e; mos s udies (3/4), bu no all, iden i ied an in e ed-U-shaped ela ionship. A e iew o he li e a u e ela ed o he was e Kuzne s cu e is a ailable else- whe e (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2020, 2021a). An N-shaped EKC pa e n had no been epo ed o solid was e o e he las decades, bu ecen ly Wang e al. (2021) ha e ound an in e ed N-shaped EKC pa e n o municipal solid was e gene a ion in ci ies ac oss he eco- nomically less de eloped egion o wes e n China. Only ou s udies subjec ed e-was e o he EKC hypo hesis: Th ee add essed e-was e gen- e a ion and one ocused on mismanaged e-was e quan i ies. Boubellou a and Kusch-B and (2020) we e he i s o explo e e-was e gene a ion unde he EKC hypo hesis; based on panel da a o e he pe iod 2000–2016 o EU28 + 2 coun ies, hey ound s ong EKC e idence (in e ed-U-shaped ela ionship be ween GDP pe capi a and e-was e gene a ion). Subse- quen ly, Boubellou a and Kusch-B and (2021a), using e-was e gene a ion o 174 coun ies o 2016, con i med he EKC o a b oade se o coun ies and egions wo ldwide. In addi- ion, Boubellou a and Kusch-B and (2022) analyzed he gene a ion o majo e-was e ca ego- ies o EU28 + 2 coun ies; o all ca ego ies unde s udy ( empe a u e exchange equipmen , sc eens and moni o s, lamps, la ge equipmen , small equipmen , and small IT and elecommu- nica ion equipmen ), he EKC hypo hesis in he o m o an in e ed-U-shaped cu e was con- i med. Unlike s udies which ocused on e-was e gene a ion, Boubellou a and Kusch-B and (2021b) examined he ela ionship be ween GDP and mismanaged e-was e (uncollec ed and non- ecycled/non- eused e-was e) o 27 Eu opean coun ies (2008–2016); he eg ession analysis ound an in e ed-U-shaped ela ionship be ween GDP and uncollec ed e-was e and also be ween GDP and non- ecycled/non- eused e-was e. 2.3 Economic pa e ns o e‑was e The li e a u e o unde s and economic pa e ns o e-was e is limi ed in quan i y and scope. P e ious s udies mainly ocused on e-was e gene a ion, i.e., quan i ies o e-was e occu ing 7538 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 in an economy. A linea ela ionship be ween economic de elopmen and e-was e gene - a ion was obse ed in some wo ks, namely o Eu opean (Awas hi e al., 2018; Namlis & Komilis, 2019), pan-Eu opean (Kusch & Hills, 2017) o he mos populous coun ies wo ldwide (Kuma e al., 2017), while Huisman (2010) iden i ied a quad a ic ela ionship o ma u e EU economies; his sugges ed ha he assump ion o a linea ela ionship migh no be jus i ied o all se ings, and o e all, a mo e complex ela ionship be ween economic g ow h and e-was e gene a ion can be expec ed. Consequen ly, he EKC hypo hesis was es ed o e-was e, as desc ibed abo e, which disclosed exis ence o an in e ed-U-shaped ela ionship be ween GDP pe capi a and e-was e gene a ion o Eu ope (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2020) and wo ldwide (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2021a), and also o indi idual e-was e ca ego ies ac oss Eu ope (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2022). Thus, gene a ion g ows wi h he economy up o a ce ain poin ( u ning poin ), while ma u e economies expe ience a decline o e-was e gene a ion. Was e gene a ion, al hough a commonly used indica o in en i onmen al econom- ics (Huang e al., 2021; Jaligo & Chenal, 2018), is no ully comp ehensi e as indica o o en i onmen al deg ada ion when ad anced was e managemen collec ion and ea - men schemes exis . In such cases, en i onmen al p essu e will p edominan ly come om he mismanaged pa o was e (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2021b; Willis e al., 2021). Adop ing an idea o Ba nes (2019) who employed mismanaged plas ic was e as indica- o in an EKC amewo k, Boubellou a and Kusch-B and (2021b) esea ched mismanaged e-was e and con i med he EKC hypo hesis wi h panel da a om 27 Eu opean coun ies (in e ed-U-shaped cu e be ween GDP and uncollec ed e-was e quan i y, also be ween GDP and non- ecycled/non- eused e-was e quan i y). Howe e , he quan i y o misman- aged was e is he esul o wo o e lapping ac o s, namely quan i y o was e di e ed o sound managemen such as ecycling, and quan i y o was e gene a ed. Fo e-was e, bo h ac o s a e highly dynamic: E-was e is apidly g owing, and many coun ies (wi h Eu o- pean coun ies aking he lead) a e se ing up ad anced managemen schemes (Yla-Mella & Roman, 2019). S udying non- ecycled was e quan i ies he e o e does no conclusi ely e eal he economic pa e n o ecycled was e. The ecycling a e cap u es an elemen which is di e en om only looking a he quan- i y o non- ecycled (o non- eused) was e: I is he ecycling a e (sha e o ecycled was e ou o he o al gene a ed was e) which indica es he le el a which an impo an en i on- men al aba emen oppo uni y is ealized in a coun y. Thus, esea ching he ecycling a e explo es new aspec s o he economic pa e ns o a ma e ial o en i onmen al conce n. Unde s anding he main d i ing o ces o he e-was e ecycling a e is essen ial o imple- men e ec i e esou ce managemen policies. 2.4 Key d i ing o ces o  ecycling I is widely accep ed ha en i onmen al a i udes (Bezzina & Dimech, 2011; Sapho es & Nixon, 2014; Zen & Siwa , 2015) and educa ion o ci izens (Esca io e al., 2020; Jenkins e al., 2003; Sidique e al., 2010; Song e al., 2019) posi i ely in luence solid was e al- o iza ion. Howe e , he key d i ing o ces o ecycling a he mac ole el ha e no been well unde s ood (Ki akozian, 2016; Önde , 2018; Razzaq e al., 2021). Clea ly, popula- ion numbe s o popula ion densi y can impac e iciency o was e managemen sys ems, including ecycling; in pa icula , spa sely popula ed egions a e mo e challenging wi h iew o es ablishing e icien sys ems (Rich e e al., 2021). Household income and eco- nomic de elopmen s age o a egion ha e been s udied as de e minan s o was e ecycling; 7539 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 howe e , esul s a e inconsis en . A nega i e e ec o household income on ecycling beha io was demons a ed o 539 indi iduals in F ance (Ki akozian, 2016). On he o he hand, Jenkins e al. (2003) ound a posi i e e ec o household income on ecycling (espe- cially o newspape s) among 1049 u ban US households. An oni and Ma ze i (2019) looked a he economic de elopmen s age o egions in e ms o GDP and ound no sig- ni ican impac o GDP pe capi a on he ecycling a e when examining 116 p o incial capi als in I aly o e he pe iod 2000–2012. Howe e , Önde (2018) obse ed a nega- i e impac o GDP pe capi a on he ecycling a e o packaging was e, using panel da a om 31 Eu opean coun ies o e he pe iod 2004–2014. Fu he mo e, o municipal solid was e, sepa a e collec ion o ecyclables (especially cu bside collec ion) has been iden i ied as one main ac o o ensu e ele a ed ecycling a es (An oni & Ma ze i, 2019; Jenkins e al., 2003; Pa k & Be y, 2013; Shinkuma, 2003); olume-based was e ees o esidual was e can suppo ecyclables collec ion (Gellynck e al., 2011; Pa k & Lah, 2015; Sakai e al., 2008). In addi ion, in e linkages be ween economic de elopmen , enewable ene gy consump ion and ecycling a es ha e been epo ed o OECD coun ies (Ce quei a e al., 2021); he esul s sugges ha high enewable ene gy consump ion le els co espond o high solid was e ecycling a es, which e lec s echnological p og ess in a coun y. Fo he USA, a co ela ion be ween municipal solid was e ecycling and ene gy e iciency has been obse ed; high ecycling a es we e accompanied by high le els o ene gy e iciency (Raz- zaq e al., 2021). Ano he ele an ac o is in ol emen o he p i a e sec o in was e man- agemen . The p i a e sec o has an essen ial ole in es ablishing ecycling schemes (Shah & Guha, 2021); howe e , i was also epo ed ha o high-income coun ies highe le els o c edi o p i a e sec o induced a highe sha e o mismanaged was e (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2021b), and hus, he e ec i e impac o his ac o is no ully clea . Based on he exis ing li e a u e abou solid was e ecycling, i can be hypo hesized ha he ollowing ac o s migh impac he e-was e ecycling a e a he mac ole el: popula ion/ popula ion densi y, economic de elopmen s age, e-was e collec ion sys em, ene gy usage and i s e iciency, and c edi o p i a e sec o . Whe he hese ac o s indeed signi ican ly in luence he e-was e ecycling a e is o be analyzed in he ollowing. 3 Me hodology andda a To cap u e he de e minan s o e-was e ecycling, his wo k employs an ex ended STIRPAT model and conduc s panel quan ile eg ession wi h da a om 30 Eu opean coun ies. 3.1 Ex ended STIRPAT model The STIRPAT model is powe ul in iden i ying he impac o popula ion, a luence and echnology on en i onmen al p essu e; howe e , i does no include o he po en ially impac ul a iables (Die z & Rosa, 1994). Fu he mo e, based on he EKC hypo hesis, eco- nomic g ow h can ha e a nonlinea ela ionship wi h en i onmen al deg ada ion, which is no cap u ed by he s anda d STIRPAT model. To accoun o his, STIRPAT model and EKC hypo hesis can be me ged by including GDP pe capi a squa e and cube in he STIRPAT exp ession (Shahbaz e al., 2016; Xu e al., 2020). This uses GDP pe capi a cube as he highes GDP e m o he model se ing, which es s o he N-shaped EKC. To a oid omi ed- a iable bias, in his s udy u he a iables ha could ha e an impac on he e-was e ecycling a e a e included as con ol a iables: c edi o p i a e sec o and 7540 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 collec ed e-was e. Thus, by inco po a ing GDP pe capi a squa e and cube, c edi o p i a e sec o and collec ed e-was e in o Eq.(3), he STIRPAT model becomes as ollows: whe e RECY deno es e-was e ecycling a e, POP is popula ion size, GDP.cap is g oss domes ic p oduc pe capi a and EN.IN is ene gy in ensi y as a p oxy o echnology. Ene gy in ensi y, as he amoun o ene gy used o p oduce a gi en le el o GDP, e lec s he en i- onmen al impac s o p oduc ion ac i i ies in a coun y be e han ene gy consump ion, because he la e is a ec ed by pe capi a income (Pa a & Isik, 2021). CRED is c edi o p i a e sec o , and COLL is collec ed e-was e. (Fo uni s o a iables, see below in docu- men a ion o da a used.) Since some p e ious s udies used popula ion densi y ins ead o popula ion (Danish e al., 2021; Liddle, 2014) and ene gy e iciency as a p oxy o echnol- ogy (Xu e al., 2017; Yeh & Liao, 2017), bo h a iables a e employed in his esea ch o check he obus ness o esul s. Thus, a second STIRPAT model is used in his s udy as an al e na i e o Eq.(5), gi en by Eq.(6): whe e DENS ep esen s popula ion densi y and EN.EF ene gy e iciency. (The o he a i- ables a e he same as in Eq.5.) 3.2 Panel quan ile eg ession O e he las yea s, en i onmen al economics has e ealed an inc eased in e es in he quan ile eg ession app oach which was o iginally de eloped by Koenke and Bas- se (1978). This me hod analyses single quan iles (i.e., pe cen iles) o he da a se du - ing eg ession. This gi es mo e obus esul s compa ed o he adi ional o dina y leas squa es (OLS) me hod and i yields mo e de ailed insigh s. T adi ional OLS is biased in he p esence o ou lie s (one ou lie can s ongly a ec OLS es ima es), while quan ile eg es- sion a oids such bias (Chen & Lei, 2018). Fu he mo e, quan ile eg ession cap u es he condi ional dis ibu ion o he dependen a iable wi hin he eg ession amewo k, while OLS ocuses only on he condi ional expec a ion (Zhu e al., 2016). In addi ion, i no mal dis ibu ion o da a is no ul illed, OLS eg ession esul s will be inconsis en , while quan- ile eg ession p o ides consis en esul s wi h any dis ibu ional assump ion (Xu & Lin, 2020). The pooled quan ile eg ession o iginally p oposed by Koenke and Basse (1978) does no ac o in unobse ed he e ogenei y o a complex obse a ion uni such as a coun y. In consequence, di e en esea che s (Canay, 2011; Koenke , 2004; Ponoma e a, 2010; Rosen, 2012) ha e de eloped a panel quan ile eg ession wi h ixed e ec s (FEQR) o add ess unobse ed indi idual he e ogenei y (indi idual e ec s) o obse a ion uni s. This app oach is de ined as ollows: (5) ln RECY i =𝛼0+𝛼1(ln POPi )+𝛼2(ln GDP.capi )+𝛼3(ln GDP.capi ) 2 +𝛼4 ( ln GDP.capi ) 3+𝛼5 ( ln EN.INi ) +𝛼6 ( ln CREDi ) +𝛼 7( ln COLL i ) +e i (6) ln RECY i =𝛼0+𝛼1 ( ln DENSi ) +𝛼2 ( ln GDP.capi ) +𝛼3 ( ln GDP.capi ) 2+𝛼4 ( ln GDP.capi ) 3+𝛼5 ( ln EN.EFi ) +𝛼 6( ln CRED i ) +𝛼 7( ln COLL i ) +e i 7547 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 whe e such ecycling schemes a e no ye widesp ead. This ag ees wi h he no e o Yla- Mella and Roman (2019) ha in Eu ope high-income coun ies end o ha e mo e elabo a e e-was e managemen sys ems. Ano he in e es ing obse a ion is he ela i ely so impac o GDP pe capi a cube: The ecycling a e u ns om a nega i e de elopmen in o g ow h a highe GDP le els, bu e ec s o GDP pe capi a cube a e ela i ely small compa ed o hose o GDP pe capi a and GDP pe capi a squa e; hus, an inc ease in he e-was e ecycling a e happens in e y ma u e economies bu a a slow a e only. These esul s a e consis en wi h indings o Kasioumi and S engos (2020) o solid was e ecycling a es ac oss US coun ies, bo h wi h iew o di e ences obse ed be ween he weal hies and poo e coun ies and wi h iew o a slow inc ease in ecycling in ich coun ies, al hough he au ho s in e p e ed he pa e n o he weal hies and he poo es coun ies as a J-shaped cu e be ween income le el and ecycling, while hey iden i ied an in e ed-U-shaped cu e o middle- ich coun ies. The e o e, i can also be concluded ha he app oach o his s udy o es o he N-shaped EKC cu e o e-was e ecycling a e is ad an ageous compa ed o applying he mo e con en ional in e ed-U-shaped EKC es ing; inclusion o he cube e m o accoun o a po en ially N-shaped cu e p o ides a mo e comp ehensi e and obus pic u e. In his wo k, using GDP squa e as he highes e m, hus es ing o he in e ed-U-shaped EKC, was also ialed, bu esul s we e less obus compa ed o includ- ing GDP pe capi a cube. Popula ion is a equen ly used indica o o examine he e ec o demog aphic p essu e on he en i onmen . Fo e-was e, p e ious s udies ound ha popula ion inc eases en i- onmen al p essu e due o highe e-was e gene a ion (Boubellou a & Kusch-B and , 2020, 2021b). The esul s o his s udy complemen he exis ing knowledge. Table4 shows ha popula ion size impac s he ecycling a e: Popula ion has a nega i e in luence (s a is ically signi ican a 1% le el) on he e-was e ecycling a e ac oss all quan iles, i.e., an inc ease in he popula ion numbe means a lowe ecycling a e, while a decline in popula ion numbe Table 4 Reg ession esul s om Eq. (5) (dependen a iable: e-was e ecycling a e; explana o y a i- ables: GDP pe capi a, popula ion size, ene gy in ensi y; con ol a iables: c edi o p i a e sec o , collec ed e-was e) *** and ** is s a is ical signi icance a 1% and 5% le el, espec i ely. S anda d e o is epo ed in pa en- hesis Quan ile eg ession Pooled OLS 10 h pe cen ile 25 h pe cen ile 50 h pe cen ile 75 h pe cen ile 90 h pe cen ile lnGDP.cap 11.42567*** (1.43044) 4.85164*** (1.69875) 7.04285*** (1.17882) 33.40508*** (0.25553) 29.44488*** (1.70393) 11.72424* (6.74602) lnGDP.cap2− 1.23086*** (0.14033) − 0.55285*** (0.17261) − 0.77062*** (0.11823) − 3.53917*** (0.02506) − 3.10195*** (0.17072) − 1.30292* (0.67315) lnGDP.cap30.04132*** (0.00457) 0.01859*** (0.00581) 0.02572*** (0.00394) 0.12214*** (0.00082) 0.10623*** (0.00567) 0.04557** (0.02232) lnPOP − 0.04647*** (0.00392) − 0.08781*** (0.00391) − 0.08121*** (0.00335) − 0.04314*** (0.00045) − 0.04114*** (0.00187) − 0.04477*** (0.00892) lnEN.IN − 0.52716*** (0.00773) − 0.43069*** (0.01359) − 0.29143*** (0.00623) − 0.21572*** (0.00134) − 0.27444*** (0.00791) − 0.32901*** (0.03769) lnCRED − 0.24974*** (0.01636) − 0.24302*** (0.02112) − 0.16158*** (0.00890) − 0.05969*** (0.00357) 0.02772*** (0.00640) − 0.15899*** (0.03503) lnCOLL 1.01206*** (0.00717) 0.92043*** (0.01092) 0.93562*** (0.00714) 0.92736*** (0.00136) 0.84878*** (0.00597) 0.93908*** (0.03996) Wald es 53,335.82*** 43,308.84*** 85,803.34*** 6.8e+06*** 2.3e+05*** 285.9690*** 7548 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 (which acco ding o Eu os a da a is he case o some Eu opean coun ies such as Bul- ga ia, Hunga y, I aly and Romania) is accompanied by a highe ecycling a e. An explana- ion migh be a lag phase be ween a popula ion change and he adap ion o in as uc u es and was e managemen schemes o accoun o such change. A lag phase be ween popu- la ion changes and in as uc u e adap a ion has been epo ed o discussed in he li e a- u e o a ious in as uc u al elemen s, including ene gy supply, anspo and mobili y sys ems, wa e supply and was ewa e ea men schemes (Adshead e al., 2019; Chu ch- ill e al., 2021; Hummel & Lux, 2007). Mos s udies in his con ex ocused on low- o middle-income coun ies, bu a delay in in as uc u e adap a ion in esponse o popula ion changes has also been documen ed o high-income coun ies such as Ge many (Hummel & Lux, 2007). Rega ding he impac o popula ion on he e-was e ecycling a e obse ed in his wo k, i can be iden i ied om abo e da a ha his in luence o he popula ion num- be is sligh ly mo e p onounced in he lowe middle quan iles (25 h, 50 h pe cen iles), and hus, a g owing popula ion numbe seems o educe he a e o ecycling a he in coun ies wi h a medium e-was e ecycling a e, i.e., in coun ies which do no ye ha e in place highly e ec i e ecycling schemes. Thus, whe e ecycling sys ems a e no ye widely adop ed, he o e all ecycling a e appa en ly is mo e suscep ible o pe u ba ions as a esul o a change in popula ion numbe s. Rega ding he e ec o ene gy in ensi y, Table4 shows coe icien s wi h ma hema i- cally nega i e sign (and signi ican a 1% le el) ac oss all quan iles; he same is ob ained om pooled OLS. The nega i e sign o he coe icien indica es he e-was e ecycling a e dec eases when ene gy in ensi y inc eases. This can be explained because o mo e usage o elec ical and elec onic equipmen occu ing along a g owing ene gy in ensi y (Mo ley e al., 2018) and consequen ly highe quan i ies o e-was e gene a ed and le un ecycled in he con ex o he exis ing was e managemen sys ems o an economy. The implica ion o ene gy in ensi y is somewha he e ogeneous ac oss quan iles; in uppe quan iles, he e ec is smalle han in low quan iles. Thus, ene gy in ensi y is a less ele an ecycling a e de e minan in coun ies wi h al eady ele a ed ecycling a es, which adi ionally include Sweden and Denma k and mo e ecen ly Hunga y and Bulga ia. This se o coun ies con- ains bo h high-income na ions wi h an ene gy in ensi y below EU a e age (Sweden, Den- ma k) and lowe -income na ions wi h abo e a e age ene gy in ensi y (Hunga y, Bulga ia). The ole o ene gy in ensi y is he e o e di icul o in e p e o single quan iles. Howe e , i is e iden ha o uppe quan ile coun ies (i.e., whe e high ecycling a es ha e al eady been achie ed), explana o y a iables o he han GDP, including ene gy in ensi y, and con- ol a iables a e less ele an ; he e o e, in he uppe quan ile coun ies GDP has a mo e dominan ole as a ecycling a e d i e compa ed o coun ies wi h lowe ecycling a es. E iden ly, ecycling a e d i e s a e mo e a ied in hei impac whe e he ecycling a e is low; once he a e is ele a ed, he economic de elopmen s age o a coun y s eng hens i s ole as mos impo an ecycling a e de e minan . This is especially he case o he 75 h pe cen ile, which includes many o he mos ma u e economies (Denma k, No way, Swe- den, Luxembou g). Pooled OLS and quan ile eg ession bo h show ha he e ec o con ol a iables (c edi o p i a e sec o , e-was e collec ion a e) is also signi ican . In ag eemen wi h obse a ions p esen ed abo e, he quan ile eg ession esul s illus a e he a iables’ impac is mo e p o- nounced in lowe quan iles. C edi o p i a e sec o has a nega i e e ec (and signi ican a 1% le el) on he e-was e ecycling a e ac oss all quan iles excep he highes quan ile. This nega i e e ec can be a ibu ed o an inc easing in es men in esponse o he highe c edi o e ed o he p i a e sec o , which is accompanied by mo e usage o elec ic and elec onic de ices and consequen ly mo e e-was e gene a ion, wi hou necessa ily highe 7549 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 ecycled e-was e olumes. This inding is consis en wi h ea lie esea ch: Boubellou a and Kusch-B and (2021b) ound highe le els o c edi o p i a e sec o we e accompanied by mo e non- ecycled/non- eused e-was e in 27 Eu opean coun ies. In e es ingly, he quan i y o e-was e collec ed has a key ole as e-was e ecycling a e de e minan . As shown in Table4, pooled OLS and quan ile eg ession bo h disclose a signi ican posi i e e ec o e-was e collec ed, and his applies o all quan iles. This sug- ges s ha an inc ease in he amoun o e-was e collec ed will lead o a highe e-was e ecy- cling a e ac oss Eu opean coun ies. This esul suppo s conclusions o Boubellou a and Kusch-B and (2021b), who elabo a ed ha he quan i y o non- ecycled e-was e in Eu o- pean coun ies is s ongly de e mined by he quan i y o e-was e ha emains uncollec ed. Again, he impac o he con ol a iable is in endency lowe owa d uppe quan iles, bu e-was e collec ed is one o he mos impo an d i e s in all quan iles. Finally, o check he signi icance o he es ima ed models p esen ed in Table4, he Wald es (Koenke & Basse , 1982) is employed. The null hypo hesis o he Wald es is ha all he coe icien s a e equal o ze o. As shown in he las line o Table4, he null hypo hesis in all es ima ed models is o be ejec ed; hus, he coe icien s a e di e en om ze o and signi icance o he models is con i med. To p o ide a mo e comp ehensi e pic u e and check obus ness o indings, a sec- ond eg ession ound is conduc ed, using an al e na i e se o explana o y a iables (as explained abo e). In his ound, popula ion densi y is used ins ead o popula ion numbe as a p oxy o he demog aphic cha ac e is ics and ene gy e iciency (in e ms o o al p ima y ene gy use o a coun y) is employed ins ead o ene gy in ensi y o accoun o he echnol- ogy ac o . Table5 p esen s he esul s. The esponse o e-was e ecycling a e o GDP pe capi a, GDP pe capi a squa e and GDP pe capi a cube is posi i e, nega i e and posi i e, espec i ely, ac oss all quan iles, a 1% o s a is ical signi icance, which indica es he ela ionship be ween ecycling a e and GDP pe capi a is ha o an N-shaped cu e. This obse a ion ag ees wi h he ea lie esul s ob ained wi h popula ion and ene gy in ensi y as explana o y a iables (Table4). In addi ion, simila esul s a e also ound om pooled OLS eg ession. This is s ong e idence ha he EKC hypo hesis (N-shaped ela ionship) is ul illed be ween economic g ow h and he e-was e ecycling a e. Fu he insigh s can be gained om analyzing he eg ession esul s in Table5. Like in ea lie obse a ions wi h he i s se o explana o y a iables (Table4), GDP pe cap- i a is he mos ele an explana o y a iable. Especially o he 75 h and he 50 h pe cen- iles (i.e., whe e ele a ed o high e-was e ecycling a es ha e al eady been achie ed), he e ec s o GDP, GDP squa e and GDP cube a e pa icula ly p onounced. Ma u e Eu opean economies all in o hose quan iles. This suppo s he ea lie obse a ion ha o ma u e economies u he economic de elopmen is clea ly he mos ele an , and in ac domi- nan , de e minan o he e-was e ecycling a e. Fo popula ion densi y, pooled OLS sug- ges s a nega i e e ec on he e-was e ecycling a e, bu quan ile eg ession inds his only whe e ecycling a es a e low. The explana o y powe o popula ion densi y as a a iable is gene ally a he low ac oss all quan iles. When looking a ene gy e iciency, pooled OLS indica es he esul is s a is ically no signi ican , while quan ile eg ession shows nega i e and s a is ically signi ican coe icien s in all quan iles excep he 10 h pe cen ile. Howe e , compa ed o he ea lie used a iable ene gy in ensi y, he e ec o ene gy e iciency is much lowe . The e o e, he explana o y powe o ene gy e iciency is small compa ed o ene gy in ensi y. Rega ding con ol a iables, he quan ile eg ession esul s in Table5 a e consis en wi h hose epo ed ea lie om he i s eg ession ound (Table4): C edi o p i a e sec o has a nega i e impac on he e-was e ecycling a e ac oss all quan iles, while 7550 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 e-was e collec ed has a signi ican posi i e in luence ac oss all quan iles (and pooled OLS ag ees). When applying he Wald es (Koenke & Basse , 1982) o check he signi icance o he es ima ed models (las line in Table5), he Wald es null hypo hesis is o be ejec ed, con i ming ha all coe icien s a e di e en om ze o; hus, signi icance o he elabo a ed models is con i med. So a , co ela ions among a iables ha e been iden i ied. To know whe he a pos u- la ed causali y is bidi ec ional o unidi ec ional, o o e eal whe he he e is no causal associa ion be ween a iables unde s udy, he G ange causali y app oach is used. Table6 displays he G ange causali ies be ween independen a iables and dependen a iables o bo h equa ions used abo e and he espec i e di ec ions he eo . The esul s show ha he e is a signi ican unidi ec ional G ange causali y om GDP.cap, GDP.cap squa e, GDP.cap cube, popula ion size, popula ion densi y and collec ed e-was e o RECY (e-was e ecy- cling a e). The e is also a signi ican bidi ec ional G ange causali y ela ionship be ween c edi o p i a e sec o and e-was e ecycling a e. Fu he mo e, he e is no G ange causal- i y om ene gy in ensi y o ene gy e iciency o e-was e ecycling a e. 4.2 Conclusi e indings ac oss hedi e en models used In b ie , when compa ing esul s ob ained om he di e en eg essions (panel quan ile eg essions and pooled OLS), indings a e consis en ac oss di e en me hods o all se s o a iables used. S ong and new e idence was ound ha he ela ionship be ween eco- nomic g ow h and e-was e ecycling a e is an N-shaped cu e o Eu opean coun ies. In addi ion, e-was e collec ed has a signi ican posi i e e ec on he a e o e-was e ecycling. Fu he mo e, popula ion size, ene gy in ensi y and c edi o p i a e sec o ha e nega i e Table 5 Reg ession esul s om Eq.(6) (dependen a iable: e-was e ecycling a e; explana o y a iables: GDP pe capi a, popula ion densi y, ene gy e iciency; con ol a iables: c edi o p i a e sec o , collec ed e-was e) *** and ** is s a is ical signi icance a 1% and 5% le el, espec i ely. S anda d e o is epo ed in pa en- hesis Quan ile eg ession Pooled OLS 10 h pe cen ile 25 h pe cen ile 50 h pe cen ile 75 h pe cen ile 90 h pe cen ile lnGDP.cap 20.80634*** (0.11527) 10.77288*** (0.51428) 26.83219*** (2.76269) 25.96180*** (0.50665) 12.81427*** (0.86424) 29.85103** (7.83484) lnGDP.cap2− 2.12804*** (0.01180) − 1.15743*** (0.05196) − 2.83458*** (0.28434) − 2.74733*** (0.05124) − 1.35844*** (0.08610) − 3.12238** (0.78228) lnGDP.cap30.07062*** (0.00040) 0.03949*** (0.00174) 0.09777*** (0.00969) 0.09483*** (0.00173) 0.04629*** (0.00284) 0.10692*** (0.02592) lnDENS − 0.05793*** (0.00128) − 0.04401*** (0.00117) − 0.00316 (0.00580) 0.054958*** (0.00096) 0.06465*** (0.00095) − 0.02861** (0.01409) lnEN.EF 0.04472*** (0.00073) − 0.02974*** (0.00290) − 0.03188*** (0.00248) − 0.05303*** (0.00168) − 0.08190*** (0.00132) 0.00499 (0.00857) lnCRED − 0.14675*** (0.00230) − 0.13848*** (0.00469) − 0.10275*** (0.01506) − 0.06304*** (0.00725) − 0.08964*** (0.00315) − 0.10467*** (0.03678) lnCOLL 0.99874*** (0.00450) 0.96387*** (0.00510) 0.92670*** (0.02446) 0.87635*** (0.00651) 0.85725*** (0.00203) 0.87357*** (0.05029) Wald es 2.0e+06*** 2.0e+05*** 4846.11*** 4.3e+05*** 5.9e+05*** 230.1966*** 7551 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 and s a is ically signi ican e ec s; in e es ingly, he e ec o hese a iables is mo e p o- nounced whe e ecycling a es cu en ly a e lowe . The N-shaped ela ionship be ween economic g ow h and e-was e ecycling a e can also be illus a ed g aphically (Fig. 1). The ecycling a e i s inc eases apidly a low GDP le els, hen unde goes a pe iod o decline and hen inc eases again wi h he economy, albei a a slow pa h. (This co esponds o he obse a ion ha he cube e m o GDP in he eg ession analysis was small.) Fo economies wi h he highes ma u i y le el, such slow inc ease in he ecycling a e ag ees wi h he J-shaped ela ionship (g ow h con inues bu a lowe pa h) epo ed by Kasioumi and S engos (2020) o solid was e ecycling in he ich- es US s a es. Figu e1 shows ha he highes GDP le els in he se o Eu opean coun ies a e in Lux- embou g; he e, he ecycling a e is below he sugges ed EKC cu e. Luxembou g has a s ongly uncon en ional economic and in as uc u al p o ile. I is a small coun y wi h an excep ional economic dominance o he inancial sec o and wi h many c oss-bo de wo ke s; unusually high GDP le els pe capi a pe sis (Eu opean Commission, 2016). In economic analyses, Luxembou g is o en excluded because da a om his coun y de ia e om gene al pa e ns (Kusch & Hills, 2017). In his wo k, indings a e obus ega ding inclusion o exclusion o Luxembou g, and hus, he p esen ed eg essions a e based on all 30 Eu opean coun ies o which e-was e ecycling a es we e a ailable om Eu os a . By using QRPD, his wo k is based on a me hodology ha is obus agains ou lie s. Figu e1 shows ha he e is less a ia ion o he ecycling a e a highe GDP le els, while he e is mo e a ia ion a lowe s ages o he economic de elopmen . A simila obse a ion was made by Kasioumi and S engos (2020) o US s a es: They ound mo e luc ua ions o s a es wi h lowe o medium income pe capi a compa ed o he weal hies Table 6 G ange causali y es ***, ** and * is s a is ical signi icance a 1%, 5% and 10% le el, espec i ely Null hypo hesis NLag F-s a is ics P alues Decision GDP.cap does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 2.99443 0.0521* Yes RECY does no G ange cause GDP.cap 230 2 2.06086 0.1297 No GDP.cap2 does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 2.98402 0.0526* Yes RECY does no G ange cause GDP.cap2230 2 2.07357 0.1281 No GDP.cap3 does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 2.95279 0.0542* Yes RECY does no G ange cause GDP.cap3230 2 2.08815 0.1263 No POP does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 2.46247 0.0875* Yes RECY does no G ange cause POP 230 2 0.13271 0.8758 No DENS does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 3.04754 0.0494** Yes RECY does no G ange cause DENS 230 2 0.02061 0.9796 No EN.IN does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 0.81608 0.4435 No RECY does no G ange cause EN.IN 230 2 0.95831 0.3851 No EN.EF does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 0.01814 0.9820 No RECY does no G ange cause EN.EF 230 2 12.9059 5.E−06*** Yes CRED does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 4.54057 0.0117** Yes RECY does no G ange cause CRED 230 2 3.37090 0.0361** Yes COLL does no G ange cause RECY 230 2 2.55111 0.0802* Yes RECY does no G ange cause COLL 230 2 0.39120 0.6767 No 7552 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 s a es. This sugges s ha ma u e economies a e mo e s able ega ding hei e o s o mi i- ga e en i onmen al pollu ion. A possible explana ion migh be mo e inancial esou ces o weal hy coun ies o in es in was e managemen in as uc u es. Fu he mo e, high- income coun ies a e mo e engaged in p omo ing cleane echnologies; his migh espond o en i onmen al conce ns among he popula ion o migh e lec mo e awa eness o nega- i e economic e ec s o ac i i ies wi h high pollu ion/was e gene a ion. A he same ime, ecycling a es achie ed by weal hy Eu opean na ions a e no sa is ac o y; hey ypically ange be ween 40 and 60% only. 4.3 Rele ance o  indings ega dingpolicy implica ions Based on hese esul s, key policy implica ions can be highligh ed. This con ibu es o be - e unde s anding cu en and u u e challenges o how o manage e-was e s eams in a sound way. Fi s , since he ela ionship be ween e-was e ecycling a e and economic g ow h in Eu opean coun ies displays an N-shaped pa e n, he challenge o ensu ing sound e-was e managemen becomes mo e acu e while economies a e ma u ing. Exis ing measu es a e insu icien o s abilize o con inuously inc ease he e-was e ecycling a e o g owing economies. Ma u ing economies display below a e age ecycling a es and he e o e miss an impo an oppo uni y o aba e en i onmen al p essu e. High ecycling a es also s imu- la e economic g ow h (Di Vi a, 2001; Geo ge e al., 2015) and he e o e a e no only o be a o ed unde en i onmen al c i e ia bu also unde economic aspec s. Whe e e-was e ecycling a es a e low, an impo an oppo uni y is missed o ha ness economic alue o a coun y o egion. In his con ex , i is impo an o no e ha he i s EKC u ning poin occu s a ela i ely low GDP le els, i.e., a ea ly s ages o economic ma u i y al eady. To alle ia e a decline o he ecycling a e in ma u ing economies, go e nmen s should inc ease hei in es men in was e managemen in as uc u es (especially o he imple- men a ion and ope a ion o ecycling cen e s). Fu he mo e, go e nmen s should alloca e mo e inancial esou ces h ough p og ams which explici ly encou age he p i a e sec o o in es in e-was e ea men schemes. The eg ession analysis o his s udy e ealed ha he e-was e ecycling a e is signi ican ly impac ed by c edi o he p i a e sec o . Fig. 1 Rela ionship be ween e-was e ecycling a e and GDP pe capi a (panel da a om 30 Eu opean coun- ies, annual da a 2008–2018, n = 290) 7553 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 Second, he key e ec o e-was e collec ion on he ecycling a e should be no ed. The eg ession analysis conduc ed in his s udy iden i ied e-was e collec ion as an impo an de e minan o he e-was e ecycling a e ega dless o whe he he cu en ecycling a e is a a low, medium o high le el (a signi ican impac o e-was e collec ed on he ecy- cling a e was ound o all quan iles in he eg ession). Eu ope al eady has highe a e age e-was e collec ion a es han o he egions, bu he collec ion a es a e s ill a om being sa is ac o y: The Global E-was e Moni o 2020 iden i ied ha 57.5% o he e-was e quan- i y gene a ed ac oss Eu ope emained uncollec ed in 2019 (Fo i e al., 2020). The EU a ge collec ion a e o 85% o o al e-was e gene a ed has only been eached by C oa ia (Baldé e al., 2020). The e o e, a key con ibu ion o aising he a e o e-was e ecycling ac oss Eu ope can be made by inc easing he numbe o e-was e collec ion poin s and by imp o ing he e ec i i y o collec ion schemes. Thus, mo e a en ion is needed om Eu o- pean go e nmen s o os e e-was e collec ion in e e y coun y, i.e., ega dless o whe he he coun y has a lowe o highe economic de elopmen s age and whe he he coun y cu en ly has a lowe o highe e-was e ecycling a e. P og ess is equi ed o all coun ies; howe e , in his con ex , especially weal hie na ions should make mo e apid p og ess in assuming hei esponsibili y o manage e-was e in a sound way. The esul s o his esea ch con i m ha ma u e economies a e mo e s able ega ding hei e o s o mi iga e en i on- men al p essu e om e-was e, bu he cu en ly achie ed ecycling a es a e no su icien . Thi d, inc easing he e-was e ecycling a e is an impo an p io i y opic o policy make s o add ess he challenge o sound e-was e managemen , bu i should be no ed ha i is no he only p io i y opic in his complex con ex . This esea ch ocused explici ly on he ecycling a e, and a solid knowledge base has been elabo a ed o be e unde s and he de e minan s o he ecycling a e. Howe e , i is impo an o highligh ha a ocus on inc easing he ecycling a es should no de ia e he a en ion o policy make s om he equally u gen challenge o educe he ac ual gene a ion o e-was e. Was e p e en ion s ands on op o he was e managemen hie a chy and is hus a key elemen o ad ance owa d mo e ci cula economies. In he e-was e con ex , ex ending he li e ime o elec ical and elec onic p oduc s, o example h ough mo e du able assemblies, o h ough epai , e u bishmen o emanu ac u ing schemes, is a op p io i y ega ding mo e sus ainable usage o echnical equipmen and educed e-was e occu ence. Resou ce e icien p oduc- ion p ocesses and e icien usage o equipmen a e o he ele an sus ainabili y ac o s. O e all, ecycling is an impo an , bu no he only elemen o be conside ed when aiming o a socie y wi h educed ad e se en i onmen al impac s. 4.4 Limi a ions o  hes udy and u he esea ch needs Al hough his s udy p o ides s ong e idence o he de e minan s o he e-was e ecycling a e in Eu opean coun ies, he e a e some limi a ions on he empi ical side. The s udy pe iod in his wo k spans mo e han a decade; howe e , his is s ill ela i ely sho o an econome ic analysis o his scope. The ela i e sho ness o he s udy pe iod is due o a s ill limi ed a ailabili y o eliable da a o e ime. As mo e da a become a ailable o e ime, u u e esea ch should analyze a longe pe iod o Eu opean coun ies. Fu he mo e, his s udy does no allow conclusions on whe he he obse a ions made o Eu ope also apply o o he egions. The e o e, u he esea ch should aim o expand he analysis o o he egions. Howe e , eliabili y o he da a used including consis ency o he da a col- lec ion me hod used ac oss di e en coun ies mus be ensu ed, and his will be mo e challenging o egions o he han Eu ope, whe e EU egula ions ha e ha monized da a 7554 B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and 1 3 collec ion and epo ing p ocedu es. Mo eo e , u u e esea ch could u ilize o he ecycling a es such as he a es o municipal was e, packaging was e o plas ic was e o u he es he EKC hypo hesis on he solid was e ecycling a e. 5 Conclusions To examine he main d i ing o ces o he e-was e ecycling a e, unbalanced panel da a o e he pe iod 2008–2018 om 30 Eu opean coun ies we e analyzed in he amewo k o he EKC hypo hesis and he STIRPAT model, employing panel quan ile eg ession wi h non-addi i e ixed e ec s as main econome ic app oach and adi ional pooled OLS eg ession o compa ison pu poses. This s udy p o ides new and obus esul s ega ding he main e-was e ecycling a e d i e s. Thus, he wo k con ibu es o a ield which so a has ecei ed li le a en ion in he en i onmen al economics li e a u e and a he same ime is highly ele an wi h iew o educing ad e se impac s on he en i onmen . Independen a iables o his s udy we e GDP pe capi a, popula ion, popula ion den- si y, ene gy in ensi y, ene gy e iciency, c edi o p i a e sec o and e-was e collec ed; he impac o hese a iables on he dependen a iable e-was e ecycling a e was in es i- ga ed h ough eg ession analysis. Clea ly, GDP pe capi a was he mos in luen ial ac o o de e mine he e-was e ecycling a e. Mo e speci ically, he empi ical indings p o ide s ong suppo ha he ela ionship be ween economic g ow h and e-was e ecycling a e is an N-shaped cu e o he Eu opean coun ies unde s udy, i.e., as economy g ows in a coun y, he e-was e ecycling a e i s inc eases apidly, hen dec eases ( u ning poin ) and inally inc eases again (second u ning poin ). This is he i s s udy o ha e es ed he EKC hypo hesis on e-was e ecycling, and e y obus esul s ega ding he exis ence o an N-shaped ela ionship we e ound. The i s EKC u ning poin e lec s inc easing p es- su e on he en i onmen (due o a decline in he ecycling a e), while he second u ning poin signals ha p essu e on he en i onmen will dec ease again in e y ma u e econo- mies (because o an inc easing ecycling a e). I is a posi i e inding ha e-was e ecycling a es s a inc easing again when coun ies become economically ma u e; howe e , pa h o he e-was e ecycling a e inc ease is slow a e ha ing c ossed he second u ning poin , and cu en ecycling a es in weal hy coun ies a e oo low o be sa is ac o y. This calls o mo e e ec i e engagemen o policy make s o p oac i ely inc ease e-was e ecycling a es. In addi ion o GDP pe capi a, he eg ession esul s showed ha he a iables e-was e collec ed, popula ion, ene gy in ensi y and c edi o p i a e sec o all had a s a is ically sig- ni ican e ec (1% le el o signi icance) on he e-was e ecycling a e. Among hese a i- ables, he mos ele an e ec was ound o e-was e collec ion (posi i e co ela ion wi h e-was e ecycling a e), and his e ec applied o all eg ession quan iles unde s udy (all coun ies), i.e., ega dless o whe he he al eady achie ed e-was e ecycling a e in a coun- y was low, medium o high. Popula ion size, ene gy in ensi y and c edi o p i a e sec o we e nega i ely co ela ed wi h he e-was e ecycling a e, i.e., an inc ease in hese pa am- e e s mean a decline o he ecycling a e. In addi ion, in con as o GDP and e-was e collec ion a e, he impac o popula ion size, ene gy in ensi y and c edi o p i a e sec- o was clea ly he e ogeneous ac oss he quan iles; hese a iables we e mo e ele an as de e minan s o he e-was e ecycling a e o coun ies whe e he so a achie ed ecycling a e was lowe . 7555 D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean… 1 3 O e all, he quan ile eg ession showed ha o abo e mean quan ile coun ies (espe- cially he 75 h pe cen ile), i.e., o coun ies whe e highe ecycling a es ha e al eady been achie ed, GDP pe capi a s eng hens i s dominan ole as mos impo an d i e o he ecycling a e. In low-quan ile coun ies, GDP is he mos impo an de e minan as well, bu he o he explana o y and con ol a iables (popula ion size, ene gy in ensi y, e-was e collec ion, c edi o p i a e sec o ) come in o play mo e e ec i ely compa ed o he uppe quan ile coun ies. Ma u e economies among he se o 30 Eu opean coun ies unde s udy ypically ha e abo e a e age ecycling a es, and hus, o hose coun ies, he change in ecycling a e will pa icula ly s ongly depend on GDP change. E-was e collec ion is an impo an d i e in all quan iles. Thus, in all coun ies, go e nmen s should inc ease hei e o s o e ec i ely inc ease he collec ion o e-was e (e.g., mo e collec ion poin s, be e pe o ming collec ion schemes). When es ing popula ion densi y as an al e na i e o popula ion size as a iable o accoun o demog aphic ac o s, he explana o y powe o popula ion densi y was low. Among he a iables accoun ing o echnology, he explana o y powe o ene gy e i- ciency (in e ms o o al p ima y ene gy consump ion) was a he low, while ene gy in ensi y (in e ms o ene gy consump ion pe GDP) was a mo e meaning ul choice. The e o e, in his esea ch he al e na i e a iables popula ion densi y and ene gy e i- ciency we e no ound o be sui able choices when in es ing he main de e minan s o he e-was e ecycling a e. Fu he esea ch mus cla i y whe he he N-shaped ela ionship be ween GDP pe capi a and e-was e ecycling a e and also applies o o he egions. Fo Eu ope, i is concluded ha ma u ing economies ha e a isk o expe iencing a declining ecycling a e while hei economy g ows, while a eg ow h o he ecycling a e can be expec ed o ma u e economies, albei a a a he slow pa h. Policy make s should be awa e o he N-shaped cu e be ween ecycling a e and economic g ow h and hus he inc eased e o s equi ed o ensu e high e-was e ecycling a es also a g owing and ele a ed GDP le els. P oac i e engagemen o policy make s is equi ed in bo h ma u ing and ma u e economies. In his con ex , e-was e collec ion me i s high a en ion as a p omising a ea o e ec i e go e nmen al in e en ion; i ep esen s a key de e minan o he e-was e ecycling a e, and i can be di ec ly in luenced h ough he implemen a ion o adequa e e-was e managemen schemes. Au ho s’ con ibu ions BB and SK-B we e esponsible o concep ualiza ion, o mal analysis and in es iga- ion, p epa ing and w i ing he o iginal d a , and w i ing, e iewing and edi ing; and BB was in ol ed in me hodology and unding acquisi ion. Funding Open Access unding enabled and o ganized by P ojek DEAL. This esea ch ecei ed unding om he Di ec o a e Gene al o Scien i ic Resea ch and Technological De elopmen (DG-RSDT) Alge ia (Di ec ion géné ale de la eche che scien i ique e du dé eloppemen echnologique (DG-RSDT) Algé ie). A ailabili y o da a and ma e ials The da a used ha e been ex ac ed om publicly accessible da abases, as indica ed in he manusc ip . 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