Opportunities and barriers of the Ukrainian industry transition to the circular economy

Abstract

The paper aims to highlight the status of the circular economy implementation in the EU and Ukraine, as well as to determine the advantages, challenges, opportunities and barriers to transition to circular supply chains. The main problems of waste management in Ukraine are explored, including faulty legislation, underinvestment, state policies and enlightenment regarding the circular economy, formal approach to the implementation of programs and strategies that should improve economic conditions, dominance of most waste-generative – extractive – industries in the economic structure of Ukraine. It is found out that the legislative framework for circular- and bio-economics in Ukraine does not meet the global challenges and requirements of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and needs urgent improvement measures. Studying the EU experience allowed describing the advantages and challenges of a circular economy that emerge in Ukraine. The article presents a mathematical model aimed at describing the peculiarities of a circular economy in the countries with low and high levels of industrial ecologization as well as understanding conditions for resource conservation during production processes. An econometrical model of the correlation between the solid waste generation, GDP and capital investment into environmental protection in Ukraine is used to demonstrate the absence of the latter’s influence on the waste generation at the current technological level of the national industries. The research results allow developing recommendations for state policy for the industrial sector and environmental protection that may be implemented at the current stage to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 2030.