Involvement in the economic circulation of production waste: Russian and European experience

Introduction. The involvement in the economic circulation of production waste is one of the priority objects within which sustainable development is implemented. The purpose of the article is to explore the issues of waste generation and directions for their use in statistical, legal, strategic and economic contexts, to compare approaches to the involvement of waste in economic circulation in Russia and the European Union countries. Materials and Methods. The study used data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation and the Statistical Service of the European Union. Using the methods of descriptive statistics, the indicators of the generation and usage of waste in Russia and the European Union countries have been studied; the methods of comparative analysis made it possible to consider the directions of involving production waste in economic circulation by sectors of the economy and approaches to involving waste in economic circulation in Russia and the European Union countries. Using the method of generalization and synthesis of profits in transactions, the authors made the main conclusions. Results. It is concluded that, despite the discovery of unresolved problems with production waste, the European approach to identify waste achieves the certain results, in particular, sustainable waste management systems have been established and instruments aimed at preventing and reducing waste, increasing the content of recycling are being applied. In Russia, for the most part, this refers to promising areas, based on international best practices, in the specific experience of the European Union countries, it is assumed that the industry processing, utilizing and neutralizing waste will be observed and prescribed. Discussion and Conclusion. It has been revealed that the problem of waste exists both in Russia and in the European Union countries, but each time it is approached differently. In general, the countries have created a system for dealing with regulation of waste production, have designed targeted strategies aimed at creating a circular economy. The results of the analysis carried out are of practical importance, they can be taken into account by other countries in the process of developing and making a decision on the problem of production waste.