During the meeting, Vice-Minister Mazurek stressed that in circular economy policy, waste is a potential resource, and in this context its disposal should be treated as a loss of resources.

As he pointed out, waste management in Poland should be based primarily on the implementation of the waste management hierarchy. First of all, waste generation should be prevented and the waste already produced should be properly managed, in particular by preparing it for re-use or recycling, he added.

The Vice-Minister also recalled that the National Waste Management Plan 2022 indicates, among other things, the necessity to limit the weight of waste (municipal waste and waste resulting from its processing) sent for thermal treatment to 30% by 2020 and in subsequent years in relation to the weight of municipal waste generated. As he explained, it results from the need to achieve the required levels of recycling and re-use of municipal waste (50% in 2020 and 65% in 2035).

Vice-Minister Mazurek also pointed out that the definition of recycling already established at the EU level does not include energy recovery and reprocessing into materials, which can be used as fuels.
Incineration of waste or production of fuel from waste are processes that will not contribute to achieving the required levels of preparation for reuse and recycling of municipal waste, the Vice-Minister of Environment pointed out.

Waste incineration cannot be the direction in which municipal waste management should go. It should only complement the waste management system, he added.