The study aims to identify the institutional flaws of the cur-rent EU waste management model by analysing the economic model of ‘extended producer responsibility’ and collective waste management systems and to create a model for measuring the transaction costs borne by waste recovery organizations. The model was approbated by analysing the Bulgarian collective waste management systems that have been complying with the EU legislation for the last 10 years. The analysis focuses on waste oils because of their economic importance and the limited number of studies and analyses in this field as the predominant body of research to date has mainly addressed packaging waste, mixed household waste or discarded electrical and electronic equipment. The study aims to support the process of establishing a ‘circular economy’ in the EU, which was initiated in 2015.