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Country profile

Poland

Polnische Flagge

Figures for 2024 ·

Municipal waste
387 kg per capita
Incineration rate
22%
Recycling rate
31%
Landfill rate
30%

Poland has made significant progress towards a circular economy in recent years. However, the country still has a long way to go to catch up with modern waste management in line with northern and western European standards. 

Key Takeaways

  • Poland has made progress towards a circular economy but must improve waste management to meet EU standards.
  • Recycling rates in Poland have declined, with only 31% of municipal waste recycled in 2024, down from 41% in 2022.
  • Packaging waste recycling has improved, reaching 64% in 2022, although it’s still below the EU average of 65.2%.
  • The nationwide deposit return scheme has shown promising uptake since its launch in 2025, with over 2.3 billion containers returned by mid-2026.
  • Significant amounts of waste still end up in landfills; ongoing expansion of Waste-to-Energy plants aims to address this issue.
Key data
Municipal waste generated14.2 million t
Waste-to-energy plants11
Waste incinerated WtE Monitor+Available with WtE Monitor+
Packaging recycling rate WtE Monitor+Available with WtE Monitor+
Key legislation WtE Monitor+Available with WtE Monitor+

Largest plants in Poland

  • Warsaw265.2 kt/a
  • Zabrze250 kt/a · Fortum
  • Krakow220 kt/a · Krakowski Holding Komunalny (KHK)
  • Poznań210 kt/a · SUEZ Zielona Energia (JV of SUEZ Polska and Marguerite Waste Polska)
  • Bydgoszcz180 kt/a
  • Rzeszów180 kt/a · PGE

All 11 plants in Poland (1,835 kt/a in the database)

Operators in Poland

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