Keywords
waste management
efficiency
DEA
Tobit regression modelling
How to Cite
Abstract
The aim of the study is to assess the efficiency of municipal waste management in Polish municipalities and to identify the determinants of this efficiency. The analysis was conducted separately for each of the three groups of municipalities: rural, urban-rural, and urban. Municipal waste management efficiency was calculated using methods from the DEA family, while the determinants were identified using a Tobit model. The average efficiency level in 2023 was similar across all groups; however, rural municipalities exhibited the greatest dispersion of results, indicating the presence of individual, highly inefficient units. Urban municipalities showed the most homogeneous distribution of efficiency. Moreover, the spatial analysis revealed that most efficient municipalities are located in Eastern Poland, while the location of the least efficient municipalities varies depending on the municipality type.
The only factor that had a statistically significant impact on efficiency across all types of municipalities was the education level of residents, whereas the old-age dependency ratio was statistically insignificant. Road infrastructure (a negative relationship in rural municipalities and a positive one in urban municipalities) and the amount of waste generated (a positive relationship in urban-rural municipalities and a negative one in urban municipalities) were significant in two groups but demonstrated opposite directions of influence. The remaining factors (unemployment rate, own revenues per capita, population density, access to sewerage, and dwelling area per capita) showed varying levels of significance depending on the group analyzed. The results highlight the crucial role of education in achieving increasingly efficient municipal waste management and the need to adapt local waste management strategies to environmental conditions.
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