The constant consumption of resources exerts pressure on the environment. In this sense, waste management has obtained increasing attention from the view of a circular economy. The European Union deals with these mentioned aspects, trying maintain long-term competitiveness and to provide sustainable development in accordance with all related environmental aspects. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the production of communal waste in 36 EU countries. The main aim is to evaluate the success of countries’ efforts to decrease waste production and increase recycling rates. The methodology used for the evaluation included data collected from the publicly available database Eurostat, consequent analyses and evaluation in the statistical software JMP 13 through regression, distribution, and cluster analysis, and the interpretation of the results. The results of the cluster analysis showed that despite clear EU waste management legislation, EU member states have significantly different waste management systems at the national level. However, generally, we could see positive correlation between the generation of waste and recycling rates. Although, Malta, Austria, Greece, and Norway recorded a decreasing level of waste recycling over the last several years, some countries (Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania) had significantly lower recycling rates accompanied by low landfill taxes. The evaluation of waste production and recycling can be used for government policy in the area of waste management, as well as for individual communities dealing with communal waste.

Recently, the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells and the increase in the number of photovoltaic power plants has led to a detailed examination of their operating parameters. In this article, we discuss material and operating parameter influences on the performance and efficiency of photovoltaic panels in a photovoltaic power plant. The plant consisted of 3600 pieces of polycrystalline PV panels from Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) Solar (type REC 230AE) with a maximum power of 230 Wp. Parameter measurements were made three years after the power plant was started. The measured and computed data were statistically processed using multidimensional statistical methods where the relationships between input and output variables were examined, which was subsequently quantified by regression analysis. Using the ANOVA, the variability of the measured efficiency of the panels and the performance for individual years was examined. Efficiency has been found to increase significantly over the years. The reason for this is the statistically proven prevailing operating time of the PV power plant in conditions with lower temperature than standard operating conditions (25 °C). Ageing was not confirmed in optimal conditions and calculated efficiency was constant.

The European Commission has established a Critical Raw Materials List (CRM) for the European Union (EU), which is subject to regular review and updating. CRMs are needed in many key industries such as automotive, steel, aerospace, renewable energy, etc. To address this issue, we studied publicly available data from databases developed by the EU for monitoring the progress of individual countries in key areas for the development of society. The paper analyzes indicators of import reliance, net additions to stock, domestic material consumption (DMC), resource productivity, and circular material use rate. Prospective products and technologies, in electromobility, digitalization, Industry 4.0, and energy transformation, are changing and increasing the demand for raw materials. The aim of this article is to look at the ways forward in order to use critical raw materials as efficiently as possible while at the same time ensuring the optimal economy of the countries. From the sources and databases of data available for the EU, we analyzed a number of variables and suggested options for future developments in the efficient use of critical raw materials. We defined what we believed to be the optimal management means in relation to critical raw materials and worked backwards to find a path to efficient use of critical raw materials.

In the European Union, basic strategy results from the need to provide intelligent, sustainable, and inclusive growth, along with respect to social and economic impacts of waste treatment. The paper focuses on municipal waste and its separation. Generally, within global waste management initiatives, the main goal is to minimize the negative effects of waste on the environment, as well as to increase and optimize the sources’ efficiency in the waste economy. Research on municipal waste development and its separation was done in individual regions of Slovakia to find if socially weaker regions have worse waste treatment. The results were compared according to the waste development per inhabitant and per household, as well as through rate indexes, which are connected to relationships between waste, social, and economic indexes. The results confirmed research results from other countries that show that the volume of municipal waste is increasing due to increased living standards of inhabitants. However, on the other hand, waste separation rates also increased—mainly based on the legislative support.

The constant rise in the consumption of resources puts the environment under pressure. Most resources are non-renewable in nature, which is why they must be utilized with great care. For this reason, the European Union devotes increasingly more attention to their efficient use. It deals with these aspects, making an effort to maintain the long-term competitiveness and to secure sustainable development in line with all of the related environmental impacts. In this context, several goals have been set out, to which the individual EU member states are bound. A method for monitoring resource efficiency was developed, consisting of indicators, the aim of which is to assess the efficiency of the use of soil, water, energy, with the most fundamental one being resource productivity. The results of the efficiency of use of the individual resources in the member states greatly differ, even without further investigating the links and correlations between the indicators. Research on the interrelationships of the individual indicators in terms of mutual influence has not yet been completed. The aim of our study was to define the correlation between the main indicator, resource productivity, and the other indicators at the level of the EU and its member states. For this purpose, we prepared a database with data which, for the sake of uniformity, were obtained from the publicly available Eurostat database. Subsequently, the data were analyzed and evaluated using the statistical software JMP 15 by a regression and correlation analysis. By using the multiple regression analysis, we created a model describing the significance of the impact of the observed variables on the resulting resource productivity of the EU member states. Generally, there is a positive correlation between the resource productivity and the Eco-Innovation index, as well as the utilization rate of recycled materials. For the sake of comparison, we developed a regression model at the level of the V4 countries, with the aim of evaluating the impact of the historical background of the countries on their contemporary ability to reach the goals set out by the environmental policy. The V4 countries are lagging far behind in meeting all of the environmental policy objectives, not only in tracking the main indicator (resource productivity) on which the multiple regression analysis is based. It was interesting to find that the multiple regression model at the V4 level does not include the indicators defined by the EU level model, the key ones, in this case, being water productivity, energy dependence, energy productivity, and environmental tax. This finding may also, after further analyses, be the key for other countries joining the EU in the future, in defining the weaknesses of the newly acceding states in terms of the EU’s move towards a circular economy.

This paper compares the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) in the EU, focusing on their application in the transport, cooling and heating sectors and electricity production. It examines the current situation in the EU and assesses to what extent their laws and policies have contributed to the transition to renewable energy sources. This study focuses on several forms of renewable energy, including solar, wind, hydro energy, and biomass energy. The analysis is based on several variables, including production, consumption, and environmental impact. The findings of the analysis highlight the contrasts and similarities between the two nations and illuminate the best strategies for advancing sustainable energy development. This study also analyzes the main renewable energy strategies and policies to understand which factors support or hinder the transition to sustainable and clean energy. The analysis underscores the importance of optimizing energy efficiency and achieving long-term savings using RESs. Additionally, this study emphasises the role of RESs in enhancing energy security and promoting economic growth through technological innovation. This study also highlights the potential of RESs to reduce emissions in industry, transport, and agriculture, thereby contributing to environmental sustainability. The results show that the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) in the European Union has increased in the analyzed period. The results of this study can be useful to government agencies, businesses, academia, and the public interested in supporting the development of sustainable energy in the EU.