Transformation of the municipal waste management sector in Poland. A case study of the Świętokrzyskie Region

Abstract

The article discusses the transformation of the municipal waste management sector in Poland, taking place during 2011- 2013, upon the case study of the Świętokrzyskie Region. The pivotal assumptions of the new model of municipal waste management in Poland are: the change of the owner of municipal waste that became communities, the improvement of the municipal waste collection, transportation and processing, and finally regionalization that means the division of the territory of Poland into municipal waste management regions. The research conducted among local authorities of the Świętokrzyskie Region has revealed that the system solutions applied in the field of municipal waste management, being currently implemented in Poland, though they are not free from socio-economic threats, lead to the fulfilment of the waste hierarchy, including the increasing levels of recycling and the reduction of bio-waste disposal.