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
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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
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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***
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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
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B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and
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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 .
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D i ing ac o s o e‑was e ecycling a e in30 Eu opean…
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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 .
Decla a ions
Con lic o in e es The au ho s ha e no ele an inancial o non- inancial in e es s o disclose.
Open Access This a icle is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License,
which pe mi s use, sha ing, adap a ion, dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium o o ma , as long
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B.Boubellou a, S.Kusch-B and
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