Waste management in the city of Krakow in view of directive 99/31/EC

W Polsce po 1989 roku rozpoczął się okres gwałtownych transformacji prowadzący między innymi do ogromnego wzrostu konsumpcjonalizmu w społeczeństwie. To z kolei spowodowało znaczny wzrost produkcji odpadów komunalnych. Nieprzygotowana na takie zmiany, dodatkowo obciążona zaniedbaniami poprzedniego systemu gospodarka komunalna nie była w stanie poradzić sobie z postawionymi przed nią zadaniami powodując skutki, które będą odczuwalne jeszcze przez wiele lat. W niedalekiej przyszłości polskie prawo będzie musiało być dostosowane do obowiązujących w Unii Europejskiej przepisów. W zakresie gospodarki komunalnej jednym z najistotniejszych przepisów wydaje się być Dyrektywa 99/31/WE. Wymaga ona ograniczenia zawartości substancji biodegradowalnych deponowanych na składowiskach odpadów komunalnych do 75% masy wyjściowej w ciągu 5 lat od wdrożenia, do 50% w ciągu 8 lat i do 35% w ciągu 15 lat. Podstawowym sposobem unieszkodliwiania tego typu odpadów pozostaje kompostowanie. Obecnie w Krakowie istnieją dwie kompostownie o łącznej efektywności około 12000 Mg/rok. Podstawową do rozważań nad przyszłością kompostowania jest analiza stanu obecnego. Należy zastanowić się nad ilością i jakością materiału biodegradowalnego, rozpoznać źródła jego pochodzenia oraz ocenić możliwości wykorzystywania.Current state of municipal waste management in Poland has been established during the last 50 years. Unfortunately, except the last 10 years this period in the Central and Eastern Europe was characterized by gross negligence in all branches of economy, including also carelessness in the sphere of waste management, the results of which have been intensifying and will be perceived for many years. The changes which in Western Europe occurred after the Second World War stimulated progressive technological development and simultaneous cultural development. In Poland the systemic transformations after 1989 happened rapidly, which led to a tremendous increase in consumption and in turn raised the amount of generated municipal wastes. In near future Polish legal system will have to adjust to the regulations in force in the European Union. In the area of municipal economy one of the most important regulations is the Directive of the Council of Europe No. 99/31/WE dated 26 April 1999 on waste deposition. The directive requires reduction of the contents of biodegradable substances deposited on municipal landfill sites. According to article 18 par. 1 of the directive, municipal wastes, which undergo biodegradation and are brought to the landfills after 1 May 2009 must be reduced to the value of 131.25 thousand Mg waste annually. It will be possible to deposit this amount of wastes for the period not exceeding three years. After the last day of April 2012 this value should not exceed 87.5 thousand. Mg, whereas according to the directive, since 1 May 2019 no more than 61.25 thousand Mg of biodegradable wastes will be deposited on the landfill. Composting remains the basic method for this type of waste disposal. In the Author’s opinion this is the best form of biodegradable waste disposal, which has many both ecological and economic advantages. However, the quantity of composted mass causes anxiety. Currently there are two composting plants operating in Krakow. The first – Kraków-Płaszów (Ekokonsorcjum Efekt) was put into operation in 2000, the second Barycz Composting Plant started operation in 2005. Their operational efficiency is 12 000Mg annually. The analysis of current state provides a basis for considerations on the future of composting. The quantity and quality of biodegradable material should be considered, identify the sources of its origin and assess its potential utilization. Over seven years of its operation Kraków Płaszów Composting Plant accepted about 2280Mg of wastes annually. Biodegradable wastes from gardens and parks constituted the largest group of all composted wastes (43%). It is obvious that somewhat by definition this particular group should be composted because it constitutes excellent structural material. Non-segregated (mixed) biodegradable municipal wastes make up 22%. Stream waste which reaches the composting plant gives on average 1180 Mg/annually, i.e. about 3.2Mg daily, which constitutes slightly over 1% of biodegradable substances contained in municipal wastes. Obviously, diminishing the quantity of biodegradable wastes deposited on landfills should be caused not only by composting by also through recycling, biogas production and other activities aiming at recovery of material and energy. However, it should be emphasized that it still remains one of the best forms of biomass disposal