Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment will amend regulations to introduce paid waste disposal at municipal collection points nationwide.
New Payment System for Waste Collection
The Ministry of Climate and Environment is working on an amendment to regulations that will completely change the way municipal selective waste collection points (PSZOKs) operate. The key change is the introduction of a payment system – PSZOKs will be able to accept non-municipal waste and waste from residents and entrepreneurs outside the given municipality, but they will do so for a fee.
According to the Samorządowy Portal, the government hopes that creating a legal, albeit paid, opportunity to dispose of problematic waste will prevent it from ending up in roadside ditches and forests, which is currently a plague throughout the country.
Waste Collection Problem Escalating
The decision on planned changes is based on dramatic statistics showing that the Polish waste management system is leaky. MP Tomasz Kostuś from the Civic Coalition in his parliamentary interpelation points out a grim paradox: although in 2024 a record number of over 12,000 illegal landfills were eliminated, at the end of the year there were still over 2,700 – the most since 2013.
Despite EU requirements, the amount of waste going to landfills is not decreasing, and the number of illegal waste disposal sites is dangerously increasing instead of decreasing.
Legal Disposal Sites Disappearing
The situation is worsened by the fact that legal waste disposal sites are disappearing at an alarming rate. Currently, there are only 247 legal landfills, which means a decrease of over 500 facilities compared to 2009. MP Kostuś draws attention to the dangerous actions of some local governments that administratively block the operation of legal installations.
A vivid example was given of the conflict in Otwock, where the city, despite court rulings, restricted the operation of the local landfill, which in the MP’s opinion affected the availability of legal infrastructure for the entire region.
Ministry: No Influence on Local Government Actions
In response to the allegations against local governments, the climate ministry is throwing up its hands, explaining that it has no legal tools to verify and control municipal decisions, as this supervision lies with the prime minister and voevodes. The ministry is therefore focused on “putting out fires” and announces a huge cash injection to remove the consequences of the practice.
Deputy Minister Anita Sowińska announced that in 2025, as much as 300 million zlotys have been secured, which will be allocated for the elimination of the 23 most dangerous illegal waste disposal sites.
Paid Disposal as Environmental Solution
Ultimately, it is the new paid service model in PSZOKs that is to be a systemic salvation for the environment. The government argues that providing property owners and companies with a legal channel for waste disposal – even if it involves costs – will actually reduce the scale of waste dumping on wastelands.
The fight against illegal waste disposal has been defined by Deputy Minister Sowińska as the absolute priority of the government, and the optional and paid acceptance of waste at collection points is to be one of the pillars of this strategy.
