Waste collection fees are rising, but are they breaking the ceiling? There's still a gap to the maximum rates.

• In 2024, local government expenditure on municipal waste management will exceed PLN 14 billion.
• The maximum rate per person that municipalities can apply is PLN 63.34.
• In many municipalities, the waste fee does not exceed PLN 40.

Is the claim that waste fees are rising unjustifiably and are an exceptional burden on residents justified, or are such opinions based more on populism than economics? It's true that waste fees are rising every year, but everything else is becoming more expensive. Why should waste collection and management be an exception?

Of course, it could be cheaper: if the system worked more efficiently, if it were leak-proof and we didn't have to pay for fee evaders, if there was more competition in the market, if extended producer responsibility were in place... However, similar arguments can also be applied to other rising costs (water, electricity, heat, gas). So, is waste an exception?

A very strong argument proving that waste prices are not increasing independently of what is happening in the economy is the analysis of the maximum permissible rates that a municipality can apply for each of the four legally permitted methods of establishing the fees.

And the maximum rate per person that municipalities could apply in 2024 was PLN 53.56 per resident - since March 31, this amount has increased by almost PLN 10, to PLN 63.34.

If the garbage collection fee is based on water consumption , the rate is PLN 22.17 per cubic meter. If the fee is based on the floor area of ​​a residential unit, the maximum fee per square meter is PLN 2.53. If the garbage collection fee is charged per household , the maximum rate can be PLN 177.36.

What are the conclusions? First, it's difficult to imagine a municipality today accepting the maximum fee per person – PLN 63.34 (similarly if other methods were used). The mayor or commune council would likely not survive such decisions.

That's why neither in 2024 nor this year has any municipality reached this highest rate . Moreover, the fees being passed are far from the maximum. Fees above PLN 45 are generating incredible public resistance (although there are municipalities where even raising the rate to PLN 35 would spark outright hysteria). Furthermore, it's difficult to find a local government where the fee exceeds PLN 50 – Jaworzno recently passed a resolution that assumes an increase (starting in January) to PLN 51.

However, there's still a huge gap between 51 PLN and the maximum allowable 63.34 PLN. And it's important to remember that the maximum rate doesn't just come out of thin air .

Under the Municipal Cleanliness and Order Act, the fee is based on the average monthly disposable income per person for the previous year. The most popular method, which is to calculate the fee per person, has a ceiling of 2% of monthly disposable income.

Meanwhile, average monthly disposable income per person (published by the Central Statistical Office) reflects the state of the economy. As explained by the Central Statistical Office, income is the sum of current household income from individual sources, reduced by advance personal income tax payments, property income taxes, taxes paid by the self-employed, including freelancers and those running individual farms, as well as social security and health insurance contributions.

Disposable income includes monetary and non-monetary income, including natural consumption (consumer goods or services obtained for household needs from an individual farm or from self-employment – ​​agricultural or non-agricultural) as well as goods and services received free of charge. Disposable income is allocated to expenses and accrued savings.

The source of the Central Statistical Office data is an annual, continuous representative survey of household budgets, conducted throughout the year on a sample of approximately 37,500 households - although some of the Central Statistical Office data may be subject to reservations, the numbers do not lie; PLN 63.34 did not come out of nowhere.

It's worth noting that when setting the rate, the municipality is obligated to perform a calculation to justify it. However, the possibility of subsidizing the system distorts the economic logic. For example, exactly one year ago, the Długołęka municipality introduced a then-high rate of PLN 45, but simultaneously admitted that it would contribute PLN 6 to each resident. So what are the true costs of municipal systems?

Dr. Barbara Kozłowska from the Lodz University of Technology, who deals with waste management, when asked where the truth lies regarding the costs of waste management and whether the fees are drastically high, replies:

Of course, this is a complex issue - a PLN 10 increase per person means another several hundred zlotys a year for a family with two children, and it is no wonder that people are protesting and municipalities are afraid of introducing these highest possible rates.

He also notes that the Central Statistical Office's (GUS) data on income isn't always convincing. "They might be a bit too high, but I won't get into a debate here, as I'm not an economist. However, there's no doubt that costs are rising, and significantly so."

The expert also points out that in waste management, fuel and energy prices have a huge impact on costs, and these, as we know, have been very high recently.

"When it comes to fuel, everyone understands the impact of price on system costs, but not everyone realizes that every waste management or recycling plant has dozens of pieces of equipment that require vast amounts of expensive energy. On top of that, labor costs are rising; everyone wants to earn more. Waste industry representatives often say that this pressure is intense because it's a difficult job, with few people willing to do it. Add to this the demanding regulations regarding ecology, fire safety, and so on, and companies are truly struggling under significant pressure," explains our interviewee.

On the other hand, there are local governments that would like to have the lowest possible rates for their residents and we have these struggles that are difficult to resolve

- summarizes the expert.

Elżbieta Student, head of the Waste Management Department in Czerwionka-Leszczyny, also emphasizes that costs are rising and it is visible "with the naked eye."

"The price of energy is particularly important here, but the number of residents also matters. And the difference between those who pay and the actual number of those producing waste. This is one of the reasons for the increases: municipalities have no way to verify declarations. A draft amendment to the Cleanliness and Order Act was supposed to be published by the end of September , which was supposed to give municipalities more tools for monitoring, but it's almost November, and the draft hasn't been published," he says.

As the headwoman says, the task is demanding.

We have five fractions that are produced continuously and therefore we visit each property at least five times a month, and we also have ash in winter and green waste in the season, and in summer we also collect mixed waste more often - all this really generates huge expenses.

- he emphasizes.

Jacek Pietrzyk, an expert at the Business Center Club, strongly agrees that we are demonizing the rising costs of waste management, and that in many municipalities the fears of price increases are economically irrational.

"I also have these thoughts that fees aren't keeping up with costs, but when I start presenting them publicly, it doesn't meet with approval," he admits. "In municipalities where councilors often don't want to raise fees, I give examples: the minimum pension was this and that in 2013, and the maximum rate was this and that. And now the pension is 2.5 times higher, and the rate should be 2.5 times higher as well," he explains.

The expert argues that, according to his calculations, the average fee should be around 45 PLN per person. However, he adds that the rate for residents does not necessarily have to be that high, especially in rural and mixed-urban municipalities.

Rates should go up. I believe local governments should apply fees close to the maximum rate, but offer reasonable discounts for compost bins.

- he argues.

And as he explains, in some rural communes, calculations show that the composting tax relief could be as much as PLN 18-20 per person.

"How is that possible? If in such a municipality, organic and green waste accounts for up to 40% of all collected waste, it's no wonder," he says.

Municipal waste management has become a significant part of local governments' financial management. In 2024, expenditure on this task exceeded PLN 14 billion, representing over 4% of the total expenditure of municipalities and cities with county rights.

In 2021, expenditure on waste management amounted to PLN 11,354,745,000, and in 2024 already PLN 14,136,688,000; revenues from fees for municipal waste management of all local government units and inter-municipal associations systematically increased - from PLN 10,375,000 in 2021 to PLN 12,994,000 in 2024.

1. The total amount of revenue generated in 2021 by all entities implementing the task was not sufficient to cover expenses within the system in the amount of PLN 979.122 million.
2. In 2022, total revenues exceeded expenses by PLN 10,732,000.
3. In 2023, the amount of revenue generated by all entities implementing the task was again insufficient to cover the expenses within the system, amounting to PLN 54,889,000.
4. In 2024, the deficit amounted to PLN 1,142,596,000.

The RIO Council also finds it concerning that 2024 was another year in which the waste management system failed to achieve financial balance , despite the system's self-financing being one of its fundamental assumptions. The RIO emphasizes that the recent widespread use of subsidizing the system from other sources has a negative impact on the operating surplus and, in the broader perspective, limits local governments' development opportunities.

"Unfortunately, municipalities are paying extra. Estimates suggest that up to half of them do so, but this is a bit of self-deception, because it's not additional money, it's residents' money that we won't spend on investments," adds Elżbieta Student.