127
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Khan et al. (eds.), E-waste Recycling and Management,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 33,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14184-4_7
Chapter 7
Management of Waste Electrical
and Electronic Equipment in European
Union Countries: A Comparison
Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá and Diego Prior
Contents
7.1 Introduction
128
7.2 Methodology
130
7.3 Sample, Data, and Variables
134
7.4 Results
134
7.5 Conclusions
138
References
139
Abstract Over the last decades, the increasing volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become a major matter of concern worldwide. In the
European case, a specific legislation has been developed in order to address the
environmental problems associated with the proper management of this particular
form of hazardous waste (Directive 2012/19/EU). Accordingly, it has introduced
specific targets for the reuse and recycling and recovery of WEEE, which European
countries should include in their national policies.
The aim of this chapter is to contribute to the literature on the management of
WEEE by comparing the performance of the different European Union countries
according to the targets set in the regulation of the Union’s environmental policy on
WEEE. To this end, we use the traditional nonparametric Data Envelopment
Analysis (DEA) in order to measure technical efficiency for the first time in the literature. We use a sample of 30 European countries for the year 2014, with the purpose of comparing their performance, ranking the countries, and identifying their
level of inefficiency. Our results suggest that European countries are highly efficient
in the implementation of the WEEE Directive and management of the recycling and
recovery of WEEE. However, considering the performance of different waste categories, we observe significant differences in WEEE efficiency among countries.
Specifically, more efforts are needed to achieve higher efficiency levels from small
equipment, lights, electrical and electronic tools, and medical devices.
I. Narbón-Perpiñá · D. Prior (*)
Department of Business, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
e-mail: isabel.narbon@uab.es; diego.prior@uab.es
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Khan et al. (eds.), E-waste Recycling and Management,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 33,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14184-4_7
Chapter 7
Management of Waste Electrical
and Electronic Equipment in European
Union Countries: A Comparison
Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá and Diego Prior
Contents
7.1 Introduction
128
7.2 Methodology
130
7.3 Sample, Data, and Variables
134
7.4 Results
134
7.5 Conclusions
138
References
139
Abstract Over the last decades, the increasing volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become a major matter of concern worldwide. In the
European case, a specific legislation has been developed in order to address the
environmental problems associated with the proper management of this particular
form of hazardous waste (Directive 2012/19/EU). Accordingly, it has introduced
specific targets for the reuse and recycling and recovery of WEEE, which European
countries should include in their national policies.
The aim of this chapter is to contribute to the literature on the management of
WEEE by comparing the performance of the different European Union countries
according to the targets set in the regulation of the Union’s environmental policy on
WEEE. To this end, we use the traditional nonparametric Data Envelopment
Analysis (DEA) in order to measure technical efficiency for the first time in the literature. We use a sample of 30 European countries for the year 2014, with the purpose of comparing their performance, ranking the countries, and identifying their
level of inefficiency. Our results suggest that European countries are highly efficient
in the implementation of the WEEE Directive and management of the recycling and
recovery of WEEE. However, considering the performance of different waste categories, we observe significant differences in WEEE efficiency among countries.
Specifically, more efforts are needed to achieve higher efficiency levels from small
equipment, lights, electrical and electronic tools, and medical devices.
I. Narbón-Perpiñá · D. Prior (*)
Department of Business, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
e-mail: isabel.narbon@uab.es; diego.prior@uab.es