Analysing the Circular Economies and Waste Management of European Countries via Decision Models

Today, waste management is a highly significant priority for the European Union. In 1975, the EU passed the first legislation on waste management, the Framework Directive on Waste, which laid the foundation for the EU's current waste management strategy. Since then, there have been several updates and revisions to waste management legislation to reduce waste and promote sustainable waste management. Today, developing a more circular economy is one of the main objectives of the EU's waste management policy. In order to do this, a circular model of resource reuse, recycling, and economic reintegration must replace a linear model of resource consumption and disposal. This can decrease the damaging effects of waste on the environment and increase resource efficiency. Efficient waste management cannot be maintained without implementing a circular economy thoroughly. The main goal of the analysis is to evaluate the performance of waste management in European Union nations from the viewpoint of the circular economy. We employ the MOORA and COBRA approaches to evaluate European Union countries’ waste management and circular economy performance. As per analysis findings, Germany and France perform better. Two sub-categories of the MOORA and COBRA method results significantly comply with each other. We may also conclude that the European Union countries that adopt circular economy-oriented policies perform better. This study aims to be a pioneer as it analyses both performance dimensions holistically in European Union countries using MCDM methods.