Released today (11 March 2025), “Waste management and the circular economy in central and eastern Europe: An analysis of EU cohesion policy funding” analysed the utilisation of EU waste management funding in nine central and eastern European countries.
These countries were: Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Poland.
The analysis found that that many are “lagging far behind” optimal waste management practices – particularly in biowaste separation and recycling.
It attributed this to a lack of funding for higher-tier waste management solutions, such as prevention, reduction and recycling.
The report was compiled by NGO network Bankwatch, Za Zemiata (Friends of the Earth Bulgaria) and Zelena Akcija (Friends of the Earth Croatia) – in collaboration with Zero Waste Europe.
Janek Vahk, Zero Waste Europe’s zero pollution policy manager, said: “Landfill methane is one of the most potent climate threats, yet EU funding for waste management is still falling short.
“With landfills responsible for 27% of Europe’s methane emissions, urgent investment is needed to scale up biowaste collection, composting, and pre-treatment technologies like biological treatment to stop methane generation at its source. Without decisive action, we risk missing our climate targets and allowing waste to accelerate the climate crisis.”
Methane emissions from landfill
The 2014 to 2020 investment period saw improvements in recycling and landfill reduction, however the report found that progress in reducing methane emissions from landfills was slow.
In 2020, 27% of the EU’s total methane emissions came from the waste management sector, with landfills being a major contributor.
The report called for more targeted investment into biowaste treatment, methane-capture technologies and the circular economy.
It also advocated for targeted support for local authorities for improving biowaste collection and recycling systems, including funding for local communication and human resources.
Iva Dimitrova, economic justice campaigner at Za Zemiata (Friends of the Earth Bulgaria), said: “Biowaste management remains a major challenge across analysed countries in Central and Eastern Europe, with only 10% of municipal waste separately collected as biowaste in 2020.
“In Bulgaria, the situation is even more alarming, with just 3% collected, leaving the vast majority to decompose in landfills and release methane. Urgent investments are needed in separate collection infrastructure, combined with economic incentives like increased tax on landfilling and incineration and the implementation of pay-as-you-throw system to reduce landfilling and encourage waste prevention.”
Marko Košak, zero waste cities programme coordinator at Zelena Akcija (Friends of the Earth Croatia), added: “Progressive cities in Europe are showing that efficient biowaste management is possible, and that EU-funded projects can play a valuable role.
“Unfortunately, ministries in EU countries responsible for this financing could be much more effective in distributing funds and helping municipalities achieve their goals for reducing landfill biowaste.”
The current EU budget period
The EU’s 2021 to 2027 budget for waste management and the circular economy is 39% higher than the previous investment period (2014 to 2020).
Zero Waste Europe described the budget as being “more progressive” with a priority on prevention, minimisation, sorting, reuse and recycling.
Notably, 60% of the total allocation is dedicated to household and industrial waste management, primarily the recycling sector.
Saša Jovanović, campaign leader of “Cities for People” at Bankwatch, said: “While a 39% increase in planned budgets for waste management and the circular economy in the nine Central and Eastern European countries for the current funding period sounds encouraging, real results will depend on how timely and efficiently the countries use them.
“Case studies from the 2014-2020 funding cycle, such as the new biodegradable waste management infrastructure in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, or biowaste management on the island of Krk, Croatia, show that proactive municipalities and regions can find the way to manage their waste sustainably, if they focus on landfill diversion and proper treatment of biowaste.”
Zero Waste Europe added that the current EU budget is accompanied by a shift towards more sustainable and resource-efficient practices through new policy funding rules and a “do no significant harm” principle.
These come in the form of the Recovery and Resilience Facility which restricts funding for incineration and landfill projects with the hope to steer investments towards higher-tier waste management solutions.
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