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Sustainable Municipal Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Case Study of Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Weronika Urbańska

    (Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Anna Janda

    (Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Magdalena Osial

    (Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawinskiego 5B Street, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Mateusz Słowikowski

    (Extremo Technologies Sp. z o.o., Na Grobli 2B/P.021 Street, 54-413 Wrocław, Poland)

Abstract

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the waste management sector had to face new challenges, e.g., changes in the size and composition of the waste stream, or the presence of potentially infectious waste. This article is based on a case study in Poland. The data analysis showed that the increase in municipal waste mass during the pandemic did not differ from statistics observed in previous years and ranged from 0.3 to 0.5 million tons per year. Lifestyle changes caused a decrease in the amount of waste generated outside households. Social migrations contributed to rapid changes in the mass of waste generated in selected agglomerations by up to 80 kg/capita. In the waste stream, significant amounts of specific groups of waste related to the pandemic (“corona waste”) as well as packaging and food waste were noted. Despite the pandemic, in 2020, Poland recorded an increase in selective waste collection by 6.7 percentage points (pp.) Data on municipal waste management showed an increase in the mass of waste sent for recycling by 0.7 million tons, while the mass of landfilled waste decreased by 0.3 million tons. The observed positive changes in waste management allow the implementation of sustainable development assumptions to a greater extent.

Suggested Citation

  • Weronika Urbańska & Anna Janda & Magdalena Osial & Mateusz Słowikowski, 2023. "Sustainable Municipal Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Case Study of Poland," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:12:y:2023:i:7:p:76-:d:1182577
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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