Poland has made progress in waste management since joining the EU in 2004, but still has room for improvement. Most waste in Poland is sent to landfills rather than being sorted. While some materials like paper, glass, plastic and metal can be recycled, recycling rates for these materials remain relatively low in Poland compared to other countries. The document calls for Polish citizens to sort their waste more regularly and for more educational programs to promote ecological solutions and care for the environment.

1. Waste Management
in Poland
Team Poland
Zespół Szkół nr 1 im. Kazimierza Wielkiego
w Mińsku Mazowieckim
Agata Pielasa

2. Table of content
 Introduction
 Unsorted waste
 Paper
 Glass
 Plastic
 Metal
 Electronic waste
 Summary

3. Introduction
 Do people in Poland know and apply the
proper way of waste sorting?
 Has Poland progressed in waste management
since we joined EU?
 Is it efficient enough?

4. Introduction
At first a garbage
truck is taking trash
to the landfill.

5. Usually landfill means a
hole in the ground filled
with unsorted trash. Not
many landfills meet the
environmental standards.

6. Gas is created in the
landfills that causes stink
and sudden explosions,
absorbs oxygen, poisons
the air and the water
threatening plants,
animals and thus
people.

7.  The landfill gas can be used
in a positive way but in
Poland there are only several
places that invested in that
process.
 From a landfill that covers the
surface of 15ha we could
obtain over 40 GWh of
”green energy” per year.
 Some of the landfills are
changed into new areas for
recreation.
Former landfill in Maślice.

8. Unsorted waste
 Waste is sorted into plastic, scrap metal, glass, paper.
 Other waste which can not be sorted is dumped into
landfills.
 All trash is crushed and squeezed which saves space
in the landfill.
 Some of wastes are burned is special furnance, but it’s
only a small part of all wastes.
 800 – this is the number of landfills in Poland and 87%
of all waste is dumped into landfills. But Poland is going
to close most landfills.

9. Paper
 Paper can be recycled 6 times;
 Recycled paper can be used to
produce books, toilet paper,
notebooks and many more;
 In Poland about 700 thousand ton
of paper is recycled, which is only
30% of paper that we throw
away;
 A lot of energy can be saved by
paper recycling.
1 ton of used paper is like saving 17
trees

10. Glass
 Glass can be recycled forever
without losing quality;
 Only bottles and jars can be
recycled;
 Recycled glass can be used in
production of many other glass
materials;
 A lot of energy and water can be
saved during recycling process;
 In Poland 30% of glass can be
reused, the whole world reuses
about 80-90% of glass;

11. Plastic
 Plastic bottles, foil and boxes can be
recycled;
 Plastic objects are the majority of all
waste;
 Plastic can be recycled in a
complicated chemical processes;
 In Poland only 10% of plastic waste is
recycled;
 Recycled plastic can be used to
produce many kind of plastic things,
e.g bottles, boxes, toys, foils;
 Plastic can be burned only in a special
kind of furnance, because the smoke is
very toxic;

12. Metal
 We can recycle many kinds of
metal (gold, silver) used in many
branches of technology like
computers, cars and many more;
 Recycled metal is cheaper which
is an economical advantage;
 Recycling can save energy,
materials and it’s safer for
enviornment;
 Aluminium recycling is 10 times
cheaper than producing it from
pure alumina;
 2/3 of metal is recycled in Poland;
All kinds of metal that can be
recycled

13. Electronic wastes
 Electronic waste is a group of
dangerous waste, because it contains
toxic substances (lead);
 Many kinds of metal from electronic
waste can be recycled and used to
produce new elements, which is also
economical;
 Some schools and companies
organise electronic waste collection
to make it easier for citizens.

14. Summary
Poland has made a noticeable progres in waste
management in last 10 years (since 2004 when
Poland joined EU), but still there are many problems:
- More citizens should regularly sort all their rubbish;
- There should be more severe punishments for illegal
waste disposal
- More ecological solutions should be introduced
into the process of recycling
With proper solutions like educational projects we
can make our country more ecological and learn to
care more about the environment.

15. Sources
 http://www.oostdam.pl/ - Polish website about
recycling
 Author’s knowledge and observations
 http://www.senat.gov.pl/gfx/senat/userfiles/_public/k8
/komisje/2012/kgn/prezentacje/66z.pdf Presentation
about metal recycling
 http://spalarnie-odpadow.pl/polskie-smieci-w-
liczbach/
 http://e-czytelnia.abrys.pl/recykling/2006-3-
214/wywiad-727/nadwyzki-makulatury-beda-sie-
zwiekszac-5877