The Impact of Solid Waste Management to the Economic Growth in selected OECD Countries and Philippines

Abstract

Solid waste was an unavoidable by-product of most human activities. Solid waste management played a significant role in reducing waste and increasing recycling in the MSW sector. The purpose of this study was to discuss the effects of environmental factors on variables such as municipal solid waste (MSW), MSW per capita, and recycling rate to socioeconomic factors such as population and economic performance from selected countries or economies. The study used selected OECD countries, namely, South Korea, the USA, Spain, Switzerland, and the Philippines utilizing their annual data from 1990 to 2018. This study employed panel regression analysis to examine the effect of environmental factors on the individual economy and Granger Causality test with the basis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) to conduct empirical verification of the theoretical basis. The result indicated that municipal solid waste (MSW) has a significant positive effect on a country's economic growth (GDP per capita). However, for material recycling, Spain was the only country that has shown a positive relationship between material recycling (Recycling Rate) and economic growth (GDP per capita). While the rest of the selected countries have shown no significant effect on the country's economic growth. The results of the granger causality test are confirmed bidirectionally between municipal solid waste per capita (MSW), GDP per capita growth in %(EG), and Recycling Rate(RR). The research strongly recommended that solid waste management policies/practices of the selected OECD Countries should be considered and applied in the Philippines to decrease the amount of waste and increase the recycling in the MSW.