INVESTIGATION OF PLASTIC WASTE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS HYPOTHESIS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

Year 2023, Issue: 57, 179 - 188, 18.07.2023

Gülşah Kocakaya

https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.1214090

Abstract

Plastics have become an indispensable part of modern life. Although plastics, which become waste after use, are recycled for the economy, they have become a critical problem because many cause environmental pollution and threaten life. It is known that the use of plastics has increased rapidly in parallel with the increase in income that has emerged from the increasing industrialization since the 1950s. According to the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth. Considering the critical importance of the plastic waste problem, plastic waste should also be evaluated with the EKC approach. For this purpose, panel data analysis was applied to the plastic waste data of the European Union countries. Research findings show that the EKC validates plastic waste in EU countries from 2004 to 2019. This shows that environmental policies should be planned around the Plastic Waste EKC.

Keywords

Plastic Waste, Panel Data Analysis, Environmental Kuznets Hypothesis, Environmental Kuznets Curve, European Union

PLASTİK ATIKLARIN ÇEVRESEL KUZNETS EĞRİSİ HİPOTEZİ İLE İNCELENMESİ: AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ ÜLKELERİ ÜZERİNE AMPİRİK BİR ÇALIŞMA

Abstract

Plastikler modern yaşamın vazgeçilmez bir parçası haline geldi. Kullanıldıktan sonra atığa dönüşen plastikler ekonomi için geri dönüştürülse de önemli bir kısmı çevre kirliliğine neden olduğu ve yaşamı tehdit ettiği için kritik bir sorun haline geldi. 1950'li yıllardan itibaren artan sanayileşme ile ortaya çıkan gelir artışına paralel olarak plastik kullanımının hızla arttığı bilinmektedir. Çevresel Kuznets Eğrisi’ne göre çevre kirliliği ile ekonomik büyüme arasında ters U şeklinde bir ilişki vardır. Plastik atık sorunun kritik önemi göz önüne alındığında, plastik atıkların da Çevresel Kuznets Eğrisi yaklaşımıyla değerlendirilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu amaçla Avrupa Birliği ülkelerine ilişkin plastik atık verilerine panel veri analizi uygulanmıştır. Araştırma bulguları çevresel Kuznets eğrisinin 2004-2019 döneminde AB ülkelerindeki plastik atıklar için geçerli olduğunu gösteriyor. Bu da çevre politikalarının Plastik Atık Çevresel Kuznets Eğrisi etrafında planlanması gerektiğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

Plastik Atık, Çevresel Kuznets Hipotezi, Çevresel Kuznets Eğrisi, Panel Veri Analizi,, Avrupa Birliği, Environmental Kuznets Hypothesis, Environmental Kuznets Curve, European Union

References

• Al-Mulali, U., Saboori, B., & Ozturk I. (2015). Investigating the EKC hypothesis in Vietnam. Energy Policy, 76: 123–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2014.11.019
• Arbulú, I., Lozano, J. & Rey-Maquieira, J. (2015). Tourism and solid waste generation in Europe: A panel data assessment of the EKC. Waste Management, 46: 628–636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.04.014
• Azapagic A., Emsley A., & Hamerton, I. (2003). Polymers, The environment, and sustainable development. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
• Barnes, S. J. (2019). Understanding plastics pollution: The role of economic development and technological research. Environmental Pollution, 249: 812–821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.108
• Boubellouta, B. & Kusch-Brandt, S. (2020). Cross-country evidence on EKC in waste electrical and electronic equipment for 174 countries. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 25: 136–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.08.006
• Chaerul, M., Fahruroji, A. R., & Fujiwara, T. (2013). Recycling of Plastic Packaging Waste in Bandung City, Indonesia. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 16: 509–518.
• Chawla, S., Varghese, B. S., Chithra A. C., Hussain, C. H., Keçili, R., & Hussain, C. M. (2022). Environmental impacts of post-consumer plastic wastes: treatment technologies towards eco-sustainability and circular economy. Chemosphere, 35867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135867
• Cheng, F., Shi, F., Yi, J., & Fu, H. (2020). Analysis of the factors that affect the production of municipal solid waste in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 259(120808). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120808
• Cordier, M., Uehara, T., Baztan, J. Jorgensen, B. & Yan, H. (2021). Plastic pollution and economic growth: The influence of corruption and lack of education. Ecological Economics, 182(106930). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106930
• Diao, X.D., Zeng, S.X., Tam, C.M. & Tam, V. (2009). EKC Analysis for studying economic growth and environmental quality: A case study in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17: 541–548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.09.007
• Dinda, S. (2004). EKC Hypothesis: A survey. Ecological Economics, 49(4): 431–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.02.011
• Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R., & Kara, L. L. (2017). Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science Advances, 3(7): 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782
• Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1991). Environmental impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement. NBER Working Paper, 3914.
• Gui, S., Zhao, L., & Zhang, Z. (2019). Does municipal solid waste generation in China support the EKC? New evidence from spatial linkage analysis. Waste Management, 84: 310–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.12.006
• Hopewell, J., Dvorak, R., & Kosior, E. (2009). Plastics recycling: Challenges and opportunities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Science, 364(1526): 2115–2126.
• Ichinose, D., Yamamoto, M., & Yoshida, Y. (2015). The decoupling of affluence and waste discharge under spatial correlation: do richer communities discharge more waste? Environment and Development Economics, 20(2): 161–184. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X14000370
• Kim, Y., Tanaka, K., & Ge, C. (2018). Estimating the provincial EKC in China: a geographically weighted regression approach, Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 32: 2147–2163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-017-1503-z
• Kuznets, S. (1955). Economic Growth and Income Inequality. The American Economic Review, 45(1): 1–28. Lieb, C.M. (2003). The EKC – A survey of the empirical evidence and of possible causes. University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Discussion Paper Series, No. 391.
• Managi, S., & Kaneko, S. (2009). Environmental performance and returns to pollution abatement in China. Ecological Economics, 68: 1643–1651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.04.005
• Mazzanti, M., Montini, A., & Nicolli, F. (2012). Waste dynamics in economic and policy transitions: decoupling, convergence and spatial effects. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 55(5): 563–581. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2011.616582
• Narayan, P.K. & Narayan, S. (2010). Carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth: Panel data evidence from developing countries. Energy Policy, 38(1): 661–666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.09.005
• OECD (2011). Towards green growth. OECD Publishing.
• OECD (2022). Global plastics outlook: Policy scenarios to 2060. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/aa1edf33-en
• Panayotou, T. (1993). Empirical tests and policy analysis of environmental degradation at different stages of economic development. International Labor Office World Employment Programme Research Working Paper, Geneva.
• Przydatek, G. (2020). Assessment of changes in the municipal waste accumulation in Poland. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27: 25766–25773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08943-6
• Purcell, A. (2020). New insights into the EKC Hypothesis in developing and transition economies: A literature survey. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 22: 585–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10018-020-00272-9
• Sebri, M. (2015). Testing the EKC Hypothesis for water footprint indicator: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 59(11): 1933–1956. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2015.1100983
• Shafik, N. (1994). Economic development and environmental quality: An econometric analysis. Oxford Economic Papers, 46: 757–773.
• Shafik, N. & Bandyopadhyay, S. (1992). Economic growth and environmental quality: Time series and cross-country evidence. Policy Research Working Paper Series 904, The World Bank.
• Shahbaz, M. & Sinha, A. (2019). EKC for CO2 emission: A literature survey. Journal of Economic Study, 46(1): 106–168. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-09-2017–0249.