Monitoring sustainable waste management in OECD countries: A Malmquist productivity approach

Sustainable waste management (SWM) practices are crucial for tackling environmental concerns under a circular economy (CE) scope. Thirty-one OECD countries have been evaluated on their national SWM performance via Malmquist data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology from 2000 to 2021. The Malmquist (MPI) and Malmquist-Luenberger (MLPI) productivity indices are compared based on their total factor productivity (TFP) and its elements (i.e., efficiency and technological changes). Both models have the gross domestic product (GDP) as a desirable output, but MLPI also incorporates municipal solid waste (MSW) generation and greenhouse gases (GHGs, i.e. CO₂ and CH₄) as undesirable outputs. MLPI has a lower average performance (1.74%) than MPI (4.42%), meaning that the incorporation of waste and GHGs has diminished an OECD country’s SWM performance by 2.5 times on average. In essence, it is innovation that drives TFP in the selected countries. Overall, the synergistic implementation of SWM practices, Malmquist DEA-based methodology, and CE principles is crucial for advancing sustainable development and achieving a circular and resilient future. The manuscript also offers policy implications regarding the need of financial incentives, vocational training, and fostering stakeholder encouragement in the waste sectors to implement CE solutions.