The study focuses on the analysis of existing approaches to waste management in different countries, taking account of digitalization and the circular economy development. The authors’ main objective was to define strategic guidelines for ensuring the formation of a waste management system by means of determining the level of achieving the waste management goals by various countries and studying their best practices in this field. The authors applied a clustering method to group the chosen countries based on the level of their indicators in waste management, digitalization, economic growth and achieving sustainable goals. In addition, cluster analysis was used while conducting the research. The study resulted in separating four clusters of the countries depending on their level of the selected indicators in 2022. The results of the research suggest that infrastructure and support of the state are essential factors in successful waste management. The authors offered some recommendations to facilitate the development of smart waste management by the states based on circularization, digitalization, interaction and regulatory support.