About 1,300 million tones of waste is thrown away each year with in the European Union – the equivalent of 3.5 tones of solid waste per capita. In a bid to cut down on waste, the EU has imposed ambitious targets for both “old” and “new” European countries to encourage recycling and waste management

In recent years, Polish legislation on waste management has been brought into line with waste directives adopted by the European Union. Along with other bloc members, is required to adapt to targets set by the EU as policymakers take steps to reduce packaging waste and to reuse or recycle materials.

In 1994, the EU adopted the Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EC), which harmonized actions taken by EU nations to promote recycling and reuse, and to manage packaging and packaging waste. Ten years later the directive was revised (2004/12/EC), with a further amendment following a year later to accommodate the new member states.

This legislation set a December 31, 2014, target date for Poland, by which it should be recovering (i.e. getting energy from waste when it is burned in incinerators that produce energy) 60 percent of all waste and be recycling a minimum, 55 percent of waste. According to environmental and economic experts, however, there is little chance of meeting these goals.

doing “terribly”

In 2007 recycled only four percent of its municipal waste, with 90 percent going to landfills. This was one of the worst records in Europe, although it should be noted that also had the third-lowest amount of municipal waste generated per person in the EU27.

According to some domestic reports, is currently recovering 55 percent of waste and recycling 30 percent. However, Krzysztof Kawczyński, president of recycling consultancy Polski System Recyklingu (PSR) and vice president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce’s committee for environmental protection, believes the true recovery and recycling levels to be around half those amounts.

“Other new EU countries such as the and are now much more advanced and have no problems like ,” Kawczyński told WBJ. “Currently, the national waste management market is extremely volatile and very unregulated.”

Kawczyński emphasized the lack of clear rules for competition in the market, with rivals offering unrealistic prices for waste collection. He argued that this prevented the achievement of recycling targets, as is unable to build a suitable system for waste disposal.

“Waste recovery organizations, rather than take over the burden of financing collection, are battling each other in a race to offer lower rates for their services.”

Irena Kołodziej, co-chairwoman of the Zieloni 2004 party, ’s Green Party, also believes that waste management companies are not pulling their weight. She is convinced that the government must get involved in order for to catch up with other European countries.

“ is doing terribly,” she said. “The problem is that ’s waste management services were offered to the free market. This is not how it operates anywhere in Europe. In most countries the government intervenes, or takes over [waste management] completely.”

Eco-apathy

In Warsaw – as in other Polish cities – colored recycling bins have gradually appeared in apartment courtyards and on sidewalks over the years. These are a common sight across Europe, but the method by which waste is collected from these receptacles is coming under growing scrutiny in because of rumors that garbage collectors simply dump all the segregated trash together in the backs of their trucks.

Dominik Dobrowolski, vice president of the Nasza Ziemia (Our Earth) foundation, agreed that this is a problem, but noted that most residents don’t know what is done with the waste once it leaves their neighborhood.

“The segregated trash, even thought transported in the same truck, reaches a local waste separation center where it is segregated again,” he said.

Kołodziej felt that this set a bad example for residents. “Everybody sees what happens in the courtyard,” she said. “It’s absurd. What’s the point? It’s counterproductive, because if somebody who has been convinced to recycle sees this nonsense, they won’t see any point in continuing.”

Lack of awareness among Poles is believed to be one reason why recycling practices have failed to take root. Dobrowolski says that in order to successfully reach out to citizens, old habits regarding trash need to be addressed.

“A big problem is the social acceptance [in ] of the destruction of the environment,” he said. Things like dumping trash in forests, emptying septic tanks into rivers and burning waste are accepted daily occurrences in some communities. “Unless there is a radical change in awareness and quick, severe punishment for offenders, this behavior will be difficult to eliminate in the future,” he added.

Kawczyński stated that the government was ultimately responsible for educating citizens about good environmental practices. Although the responsibilities of government departments differ depending on the situation, all need to be equally involved. The Ministry of the Environment, Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, provincial marshalls’ offices and local authorities all have to work together to educate to population. The promotion of recycling is carried out at different levels; in schools, through community organizations and at local government levels. But this is obviously not enough.

“They are not doing much to create a positive social climate for recycling,” Kawczyński said. “This is particularly manifested in universal education and public information [campaigns].” He noted that public media are not doing enough to help the process.

Regarding the public’s attitude, Kołodziej believes that many people simply don’t recycle because they don’t feel it is worthwhile for them. “They don’t see the benefits for themselves, instead they see it as the European Union once again meddling in their affairs,” she said.

Business leads the way

The economic viability of waste management is one of the biggest obstacles to recycling. However, the business world is getting more involved and leading the way in adopting environmentally friendly practices.

“Companies, especially large corporations, were the first organizations in the country to implement entire systems to minimize waste,” said Dobrowolski. He believes that the culture of organization and environmental standards implemented in the European headquarters of many of these companies have been transferred to their local offices. This has, consequently, helped to cut costs.

“The reduction of waste lowers costs for companies, therefore making them more profitable – which for businesses is always an argument for [implementing] effective action in protecting the environment,” he continued.

However, Kawczyński was unconvinced that business is embracing waste reduction as a means of cutting costs. He believes there is still a long way to go for Polish firms, many of which are unable to see short-term benefits justifying the practice of recycling.
“In , we don’t count the environmental benefits in a way that allows us to compare them with [economic benefits],” he said. “We don’t convert it into money and profits.”

Wasted future?

Profits or no, the consequences of disregarding the impact of waste management on our lives should not be underestimated. The use of raw materials will eventually come to an end, Dobrowolski said.

“The Earth’s resources are not infinite,” he said. “Thus, recycling and saving materials is not only an ecological slogan, but also an economic necessity.”

For Irena Kołodziej, eco-apathy in will result in a stark future for generations to come unless today’s Poles learn to deal with mass consumption. They should recycle, she believes, not only for the environment, but also for themselves.

“We will be healthier, have cleaner drinking water, better air to breathe – a good life for us all,” she said.

“Ultimately, the consequences of littering the world will be felt by our children. They will pay a heavy price if we don’t deal with this problem now.”