Garbage will be more expensive. The question is not if, but by how much?

• We have written many times about the fact that in many places only one company participates in tenders for waste collection or management.
• The free market in transport and waste management was intended to make private films compete with each other by offering low prices.
• Meanwhile, in many municipalities, for years only one or two companies have participated in tenders for the collection and management of municipal waste.

Only two companies submitted a tender for the collection and management of municipal waste from residential properties in the Gostynin area in 2026, and both priced their services well above what the city council expected.

SHOCK. Two bids were received. One for PLN 9.163 million, the other for PLN 9.468 million. These bids are over PLN 3 million higher than the current bid this year.

- writes Mayor Agnieszka Korajczyk-Szyperska, adding a series of exclamation points and repeating the word "SHOCK".

The above-mentioned difference of PLN 3 million is even more impressive if we add that it represents a 30% increase in costs compared to the tender from the not-so-distant past, i.e. from 2024.

"The tender will be held in 2024 and this year for PLN 6.337 million, and next year's amount will be over PLN 9 million. Unfortunately, we do not have that kind of money, so we will cancel this tender and announce a new one, and I hope the bids will be lower," says the mayor.

He adds that even if the re-tender is more beneficial for the commune, it will not change the fact that "waste rates will unfortunately increase."

It's worth noting that a rate increase recently took place in Gostynin. As of February 1st, residents will pay 35 PLN per person per month.

The problem of rising costs and a lack of competition in waste tenders has been a recurring one for years. In May, local governments from the Association of Polish Cities, complaining about the lack of competition in waste collection tenders, proposed a discussion on loosening public procurement regulations. Consequently, a motion was submitted to the parliamentary subcommittee on municipal economy and infrastructure to address the issue. Local governments would like to consider whether budgetary entities could play a greater role in managing the waste system.

As Adam Ostrowski from the Association of Polish Cities said, it is very often the case that only one company submits tenders for the commissioning, which significantly limits control over quality and affects the cost of the service.

He added that there is no nationwide data on the number of tender participants, but according to calculations by local government officials from the Lubusz Voivodeship, in their region only one company participated in approximately 60 percent of tenders.

Local governments would like to have influence over how one of their core tasks is performed, but with a single entity in the tender, such influence is impossible, and control is also limited. Because, as we hear, the lack of competition means companies carry out tasks as the market allows, which is not always the best.

- he explained.

The local government's proposal raised concerns among representatives of private entities in the waste industry. They emphasized that budgetary entities cannot participate in tenders, and that a tendering procedure is necessary, so the interpretation is clear.

As they said, the ZMP proposal could lead to the creation of a quasi-entrepreneur who, as a local government budgetary institution, would be a market participant but would not bear the risk of being present on this market.

"The facts are that there are municipalities where there is no competition, but I don't think it's about overturning the table; no one has any interest in that. Perhaps each side can yield and propose solutions that will improve the situation," said MP Jarosław Wieczorek.