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Amendment to the Act on Maintaining Cleanliness and Order – necessary and significant amendments for municipalities and residents are to come into force

04 November 2025
RCL has published draft amendments to the so-called Cleanliness Act, a step towards more effective waste management at the local government level. What is worth paying attention to?

In a nutshell, the changes provide municipalities with greater control and flexibility, realign costs, increase transparency in tenders, create an incentive for composting, require municipalities to increase the availability of PSZOKs [points of selective collection of municipal waste], and strengthen enforcement of segregation and honesty in declarations. 

Proposed changes include:

  • The waste fee consists of a fixed and a variable part, depending on the amount of waste generated.
  • The municipality will be able to react flexibly, assessing whether, in a given case, a higher fee should be imposed for not sorting waste.
  • The head of the commune (town or city mayor) will be able to obtain data from water and sewage companies in order to verify waste declarations.
  • The project includes the obligation to provide a minimum number of PSZOKs (and, where this is more challenging, to offer mobile solutions) to increase residents' access to the waste collection infrastructure.
  • The legislator's goal is actually to accelerate selective collection and recycling - today, Poland achieves a recycling rate of approximately 32%. In comparison, the required minimum for 2025 is 55% (with a plan to reach 60% by 2030).

For local governments and waste industry companies, this is a signal: changes are coming that will require adapting processes, monitoring systems, and fostering cooperation between residents and local government.

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