Quantifying service sector waste: insights from the Spanish economy

Abstract

Global waste generation is projected to rise significantly in the coming decades, with high-income countries contributing disproportionately to per capita waste production. While the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plans prioritize resource-intensive sectors, the service sector’s contributions to waste generation remain underexplored. This study offers a detailed assessment of waste generation in Spain, distinguishing between direct and indirect contributions as well as their domestic and foreign origins, with a particular focus on disaggregated data for service activities. By employing environmentally extended input–output modeling, this study quantifies not only the direct waste produced by service industries but also the substantial indirect waste embedded in their supply chains, thereby revealing the full extent of the sector’s contribution to national waste generation. While service industries generate relatively low levels of direct waste, the results reveal a substantial indirect footprint driven by upstream supply chains. These findings underscore the need to integrate disaggregated service sector data into waste accounting systems and to align circular economy policies with the sector’s full environmental impact. Building on these findings, this study contributes valuable knowledge of the service sector’s role in waste generation and highlights key areas for future research aimed at fostering sustainable economic practices.