Waste Management in Poland

Team Poland

Zespół Szkół nr 1 im. Kazimierza Wielkiego

w Mińsku Mazowieckim

Agata Pielasa

Table of content

Introduction

Unsorted waste

Paper

Glass

Plastic

Metal

Electronic waste

Summary

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?

IntroductionAt first a garbage truck is taking trash to the landfill.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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;

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;

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

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.

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.

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