Assessment of the changes in the economy of municipal waste in Poland after 2004

The aim of European Union policy is to implement the principles of sustainable development, in which particularly important are: environmental protection and rational management of resources. Major role is given to waste management and appropriate prioritization of activities in this area. The main goal of waste management is prevention, minimization and elimination of wastes "at source", as well as encouraging efficient use of natural resources through recovery and recycling of waste. Storage process should be minimalized over the years until the complete elimination. As shown by statistics data, unfortunately in Poland, the process is very slow. The analysis of the data provided by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) over the last thirteen years shows a significant increase in the level of recovery and recycling of municipal waste. All together it was 11.654 million Mg of municipal waste collected in 2016. Wastes selected from municipal waste (paper, glass, plastics, metals) accounted for only 25.2% (2.942 million Mg), and mixed waste accounted for 74.8% (8.712 million Mg). In 2016 the recycling rate was 27.83%, composting or fermentation – 16.22%, 19.44% of municipal wastes are subjected thermal transformation and the storage level is 36.51%. Landfilling is still the most common form of municipal waste disposal.