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Abstract
The growing economies and the increase in urbanization have increased the process of waste production. Recycling of the wastes resulting from economic processes through certain operations would both decrease the amount of wastes and the need for area to store them and minimize the demand for virgin resources in production. This study aims to examine the socio-economic factors that are effective on recycling from macro perspective. Therefore, a Panel Data Analysis was conducted with data of 31 European Economic Area (EEA) countries concerning the period from 2004 to 2014. In the model used in the analysis, the recycling rate is represented by the packaging waste recycling rate. As an independent variable, Education, Income, R & D expenditures, Resources and Agricultural sector added values were used. As a result of the analyses conducted in this research it was determined that education and amount of resources are in a positive relationship with recycling rate while income levels and the agriculture sector are in a negative relationship with the recycling rate.
Keywords: Recycling, Socio-Economic Factors, European Economic Area (EEA) countries, Panel Data
JEL Classification: Q53, C33
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Introduction
Rapid and uncontrolled population growth coupled with increased human needs forced businesses to consume more resources. The increase in resource consumption disrupts the natural balance and harms the environment. At this point, the importance of recycling comes to light. Moreover, the fact that natural resources are not distributed homogeneously around the world has led some countries to become "poor' in terms of natural resources and "rich" in others. Countries that are poor in terms of natural resources attach more importance to recycling in order to protect themselves from the external dependency and the fluctuations in natural resource prices. In the traditional economic system, the existing production and consumption styles are often based on the linear principle. Sources are extracted, processed, used and eventually discarded as waste. Thus, wastes are typically disposed of by burning or storage. In both cases the materials are withdrawn from the circulation or destroyed. Such a linear economic model can only function if there are unlimited resources to satisfy endless demands. However, a linear economy will inevitably encounter limits. At the center of the circular economy concept, the value of...