Recyclable Consumption and Its Implications for Sustainable Development in the EU

Dumitru Alexandru Bodislav, Liviu Cătălin Moraru, Raluca Iuliana Georgescu, George Eduard Grigore (), Oana Vlăduț, Gabriel Staicu () and Alina Ștefania Chenic
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Dumitru Alexandru Bodislav: Department of Economy and Economic Policies, Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
Liviu Cătălin Moraru: Department of Economy and Economic Policies, Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
Raluca Iuliana Georgescu: Bodislav & Associates, 020332 Bucharest, Romania
George Eduard Grigore: Department of Economics, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Oana Vlăduț: Department of Economics, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Alina Ștefania Chenic: Department of Economy and Economic Policies, Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-36

Abstract: The transition to a circular economy is imperative in order to confer considerable benefits upon the environment, the economy, and society. The present study aimed to analyse the interdependence and causal relationships between recyclable material consumption as the dependent variable and other independent variables, including the raw material footprint, the trade in recyclable materials, greenhouse gas emissions, investments in the circular economy sectors, the real GDP per capita, renewable energy sources, the circular material use rate, and the population within the 27 EU Member States from 2013 to 2021. In order to achieve the objective, a two-stage economic model was constructed using a panel approach. The research findings indicate a direct and positive correlation between the consumption of recyclable materials and all the aforementioned independent variables, with the exception of greenhouse gas emissions. This study confirms that innovation and investment significantly reduce environmental degradation, and, moreover, the efficiency of investment remains unaffected. A further relationship that emerged from this study is that developed countries have higher resource consumption, which is consistent with the cause of increased consumption being the rapid growth of the middle class around the world. The main conclusion is that Europe cannot achieve sustainable development without a circular economy.

Keywords: circular economy; consumption of recyclable materials; recycling rate; EU countries; sustainable consumption; causality analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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