THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LEGAL REGIME FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMANIA
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LEGAL REGIME FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses the issue of the importance of adequate, up-to-date regulation of the national waste management regime, an aspect that affects the sustainable development of Romanian society. The article is structured in four sections. The first section demonstrates the direct link between waste management and the achievement of the SDGs undertaken by our country through the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The link between waste and sustainable development is indisputable, as inefficient waste management affects all three pillars of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental. The second section of the article defines the concept of circular economy, presents the principles of circular economy, and outlines the problems Romania faces in implementing the concept. The intrinsic link between the concept of sustainable development and that of the circular economy is also demonstrated, both acting simultaneously on three levels: environment, economy, society. However, while sustainable development is a broad concept that includes these levels, the circular economy is an umbrella concept, a tool for achieving sustainable development. The third section analyzes the relevant domestic legal framework, which presents an extremely complex and dispersed legal architecture, consisting of numerous general and sectoral normative acts, structured at different levels of regulation. The multiplicity of normative acts is, to a certain extent, an expression of the European obligations undertaken by Romania as part of the process of accession and harmonization with the common European policy in the field of the environment. The last part contains the conclusions of the study, among which we mention the fact that, although some progress has been made in the field of waste management and the implementation of the circular economy concept, the continued existence of many (non-compliant) landfills is concrete evidence of the inefficiency of waste management.

• Details
• Contents