Zero Waste Europe: Despite EU waste management budget, CEE states struggle to catch up

EU budget allocations for municipal waste management are “insufficient” to support central and eastern European (CEE) member states (MS) in catching up with the EU’s decarbonization targets, reveals a new report published by Zero Waste Europe and conducted by CEE partner organizations.

“Despite increased EU funding, many CEE MS face structural and systemic challenges in biowaste management. A major issue is the lack of adequate infrastructure for separate collection, composting, and anaerobic digestion. Much of the funding has historically been allocated to residual waste treatment infrastructure, especially incineration, rather than high-priority circular economy initiatives,” Janek Vähk, Zero Pollution policy manager at Zero Waste Europe, tells Packaging Insights. 

Previously, the EU’s waste management priorities often favored landfill and incineration over waste prevention, reuse, and recycling. “While the 2021–2027 funding cycle has improved this, thanks to the ‘Do No Significant Harm’ criteria that exclude investment in incineration and landfill expansion, progress remains slow,” Vähk continues.

“Another key challenge is low public engagement. Many countries lack efficient door-to-door biowaste collection systems, and underfunded awareness campaigns lead to poor participation in waste separation.” 

“Weak policy enforcement also plays a role, with some CEE countries failing to implement separate collection effectively or introduce economic incentives such as pay-as-you-throw schemes and landfill or incineration taxes.”

The report by the Czechia-based CEE environmental network Bankwatch and Zero Waste Europe member organizations Za Zemiata (based in Bulgaria) and Zelena Akcija (based in Croatia) analyzes the utilization of EU waste management funding in nine central and eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland.

EU budget and monitoring 

Vähk says that while the EU monitors and tracks MS’ waste management spending through the Cohesion Open Data Platform, “there are significant accountability gaps.”

CEE countries should manage EU funds to boost recycling and biowaste collection rates.“Some countries underspend or misallocate funds — Romania, for instance, spent only 44% of its allocated waste management budget for 2014–2020. Despite considerable investment, no CEE country met the EU’s 50% recycling target by 2020.”

Report co-authors Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, strategic area leader at CEE Bankwatch Network, and Evgenia Tasheva from the Ze Zemiata Zero Waste team, tell us that: “EU funding has disbursed significant amounts to much-needed investments in CEE since 2021, at least €584 million (US$635.6 million) went to waste incineration, and only €228 million (US$248 million) to biomass plants, mainly in the fund’s largest beneficiaries, such as Czechia, Poland, and Romania.”

“Measuring the effectiveness of the funding should look beyond the financial bottom line. Some of the largest investments are in the waste sector, and to promote much-needed flexibility in waste management options, they should be adapted to the specific needs of the local beneficiaries,” suggest Bacheva-McGrath and Tasheva. 

“This is not the case when national authorities’ guidelines require very specific technologies and capacities, which are not in any way flexible to fit local realities, adding one more layer of complexity to local waste management.”

Vähk adds that a “fundamental issue” is that funding is allocated based on project proposals rather than performance, which allows inefficient waste management practices to persist. 

“Additionally, enforcement remains weak, with few financial penalties or funding cuts when member states fail to meet recycling and landfill diversion targets. The 2021–2027 funding cycle has introduced stronger monitoring mechanisms and prioritized higher waste hierarchy practices, focusing on recycling over incineration and landfill,” he says. 

“However, implementation remains a challenge, and a performance-based funding model should be considered to ensure greater accountability and effectiveness.”

Driving waste reduction

The report highlights case studies where regions successfully reduced packaging waste through EU-funded circular economy initiatives. “Several regional examples demonstrate how targeted investments and strong policies can drive waste reduction,” says Vähk.

“On Krk Island, Croatia, an efficient door-to-door biowaste collection system has achieved a 70% separate collection rate, with a composting facility that has reduced landfill biowaste by 60% since 2006. Zagreb has used EU funding to modernize its waste collection and recycling infrastructure, reducing mixed waste sent to landfill by 79,000 tons annually since 2016.”

“In Bulgaria, the municipalities of Burgas, Nessebar, and Pomorie have developed a state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion plant with a capacity to process 30,652 tons of biowaste per year, co-funded with €14 million (US$15 million) from the EU,” Vähk continues. 

Krk Island, Croatia, implemented effective door-to-door biowaste collection systems.“These cases highlight that door-to-door collection systems tend to outperform centralized recycling centers, well-planned composting, and anaerobic digestion projects can significantly reduce waste sent to landfill, and public engagement plays a critical role in improving waste separation rates.”

Boosting public engagement 

Vähk, Bacheva-McGrath, and Tasheva say that public engagement and education initiatives are instrumental in regions where budget allocations have successfully brought about positive waste management change.

Bacheva-McGrath and Tasheva add: “Public awareness campaigns and community engagement are the top-of-mind tools for public mobilization, especially when food waste is concerned.”

“However, just promoting a ‘zero waste’ lifestyle cannot yield the comprehensive, game-changing shift in waste generation that we need to step into the circular economy,” they argue. “For that to materialize, the industry and governments of all levels need to prioritize circular products and services.”

Vähk points out that gamification and digital tools could also play a role, with mobile apps tracking recycling behavior and rewarding participation. “Supermarkets and restaurants should be encouraged, or required, to establish biowaste collection points and donate unsold food.”

“Successful strategies include incentive-based schemes where households that sort waste properly receive lower waste collection fees, encouraging participation. School-based education programs, such as those implemented on Krk Island, have helped instill strong waste separation habits in younger generations.”

“However, two major challenges remain: lack of funding for behavioral change campaigns, as most CEE governments prioritize infrastructure, and weak enforcement, as public engagement alone will not be effective without supporting economic incentives and strong policies.”