Jarosław Babiasz from Urząd Gminy Bolesławiec explains:
As in all municipalities in Poland, Gmina Bolesławiec was required to adapt its local law to national regulations—the amended Act of September 13, 1996, on maintaining cleanliness and order in municipalities (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1439)—by introducing:
- the obligation for property owners to collect municipal waste selectively in accordance with the requirements and method set out in the regulations, divided into five fractions: unsorted (mixed), paper, plastics and metals, glass, and bio-waste (Article 5(1)(3) of the Act),
- the introduction of an increased fee if the obligation to collect waste selectively is not fulfilled (Article 6k(3) of the Act),
- the introduction of a partial exemption from the fee for municipal waste management for owners of properties with single-family residential buildings who compost bio-waste constituting municipal waste in a home composter (Article 6k(4a) of the Act).
Consequently, the Bolesławiec Municipal Council adopted Resolution No. XVI/188/20 of September 30, 2020, on the method of determining the fee for municipal waste management, determining the rate of this fee for properties inhabited by residents, and on the partial exemption from the municipal waste management fee for owners of properties with single-family residential buildings who compost bio-waste constituting municipal waste in a home composter (Official Journal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of 2020, item 5584), according to which the fee rate for municipal waste management changes as of January 1, 2021.
Why are the fees increasing?
Municipality: “The increase in rates is caused by a situation visible not only in our area, but throughout Poland.
It adds:
Statutory tightening of regulations concerning the collection and processing of waste by waste-collection operators—including the requirement for round-the-clock monitoring of waste storage sites, fire protection measures, reducing the storage period for waste to one year, and financial guarantees for storing it—as well as the rising minimum wage, are contributing to higher costs.
The fee is undoubtedly also affected by the uniform waste-segregation system introduced by the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of December 29, 2016, on the detailed method of selectively collecting selected waste fractions, requiring uniform segregation of municipal waste, with mandatory division into five waste fractions.
Prices for accepting waste at waste facilities (landfills) have increased. By introducing legislative changes, the lawmakers also allowed municipal waste to be managed at facilities located anywhere in the country. This was intended to introduce price competition and prevent regional monopolies. Eliminating the regionalization of facilities had the opposite effect, increasing the cost of managing waste at municipal facilities and the cost of transporting waste.
The market for recyclable materials is also struggling: segregated waste is currently accepted by sorting plants at approximately PLN 500 per tonne. There is a shortage on the domestic market of buyers willing to accept plastics and waste paper. The amount of packaging waste is also increasing, for which producers still do not bear responsibility.
When calculating the municipal waste management fee effective from January 1, 2021, changing economic indicators also had to be taken into account: the increase in average wages, the increase in electricity prices, higher transport costs, and inflation. The municipal waste management system is also affected by the removal of increasingly common illegal dumps.
J. Babiasz:
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are all watching with concern as the costs of operating the municipal waste management system rise, costs that ultimately fall on us—the residents. Nevertheless, the municipality is obliged to fulfill its responsibilities and ensure continuity of waste collection and management services.
Key information concerning inhabited properties:
Under the new resolution of the Bolesławiec Municipal Council, the monthly municipal waste management fees in 2021 are as follows:
- PLN 30.00 for each person residing at the property,
- PLN 60.00 for each person residing at the property if the property owner fails to fulfill the obligation to collect waste selectively,
- a partial fee exemption for owners of properties with single-family residential buildings who compost bio-waste constituting municipal waste in a home composter, amounting to PLN 1.00 per month for each resident living at the property.
Owners of inhabited properties who declared waste segregation before the new resolutions came into force will receive a notice of the changed fee amount and will not be required to submit new declarations.
Owners of inhabited properties who previously declared non-selective waste collection are required to submit new declarations from January 1, 2021, indicating the fee rate applicable to selective collection.
A new declaration must also be submitted if the owner declares that bio-waste will be composted in a home composter and wishes to take advantage of the fee reduction. Choosing the lower waste-collection rate means that bio-waste will not be collected by the waste-disposal company and cannot be taken to the Selective Municipal Waste Collection Point. All bio-waste must be managed in the home composter.
The reduction will be applied after the actual situation has been inspected for payers who declare that they compost all bio-waste in a composter. Please note that making such a declaration entails the obligation to return the brown bio-waste container.
The deadline and method of paying municipal waste management fees have not changed: quarterly payments are due by March 15, May 15, September 15, and November 15 to the individual bank account indicated in the notice.
If the property owner does not pay the municipal waste management fee in the amount stated in the notice, a decision specifying the fee amount will be issued, using the fee amount stated in the notice (Article 6m(2b) of the Act).
Key information concerning uninhabited properties (companies and institutions):
The Bolesławiec Municipal Council adopted Resolution No. XVI/189/20 of September 30, 2020, on the fee rate for municipal waste management per container or bag of a specified capacity, intended for collecting municipal waste on a property where no residents live but municipal waste is generated (Official Journal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of 2020, item 5585), which sets the fee rates for a specified container or bag for uninhabited properties, effective from January 1, 2021, at the following levels:
- 120-liter bag – PLN 18.19
- 120-liter container – PLN 6.34
- 240-liter container – PLN 12.69
- 1,100-liter container – PLN 58.20
If the obligation of selective waste collection is not fulfilled, the fee will increase fourfold.
Instead of the previous system, which charged only for the collection and management of one fraction—mixed waste—the fee is now charged for collecting and managing waste in a container/bag from each of the five mandatory fractions:
- unsorted (mixed) municipal waste,
- paper,
- plastics and metals,
- glass,
- bio-waste.
ATTENTION!
Owners of uninhabited properties who want Gmina Bolesławiec to collect waste from their properties after January 1, 2021, should submit written consent on time to join the municipal waste management system together with a new declaration. If they do not do so, the municipality will stop collecting municipal waste from their properties.
Owners who withdraw from the municipal waste management system will be required to have individual municipal waste collection agreements with an authorized waste-collection operator, entered in the relevant register of regulated municipal waste collection activities. They will also be inspected to verify that they have appropriate municipal waste collection agreements and fulfill the obligations arising from the regulations.
Further information is available at Urząd Gminy, by telephone at 75 732 32 21–23, extension 121.