Environmental legislation and waste management efficiency in Italian regions in view of circular economy goals

Separate waste collection and landfilling represent two key outcomes of waste management. Italy recently observed major shifts in waste targets. Regional policymakers, in charge of devising waste management plans, have been required to review their strategies, in view of the transition towards circular economy. This work proposes a theoretical framework that outlines the policymaker's problem and estimates regional efficiency in waste management using Data Envelopment Analysis on time series data. We find that the target shifts reduced efficiency in the short run, but encouraged the circular economy transition over time. Current waste management regulations need to consider regional heterogeneity when setting targets and constraints.