How much waste does Poland produce? For 2026 the figure works out at an estimated 149.8 million tonnes, or roughly 330 billion pounds.
The last year anyone measured is 2022, when Poland generated 174.9 million tonnes. More than a third of it, 63.3 million tonnes, was rock and mineral waste from its mines, while building sites produced a far smaller share than they do in most of the EU.
Poland threw out 387 kg of household-type waste per person in 2024, a quarter less than the EU average. Its economy still generated 174.9 million tonnes of waste in 2022, the fourth-largest total in the EU, because most of it comes from mines, power stations and factories rather than homes.
Poland's waste over time (2010-2026)
Eurostat measures national waste every two years, so the table runs on even years, estimated from 2022 to 2026, with each change measured against the previous reading.
| Year | Tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 149,846,779 | -8.8 million (-5.6%) |
| 2024 | 158,693,361 | -16.3 million (-9.3%) |
| 2022 | 174,949,054 | +4.7 million (+2.8%) |
| 2020 | 170,233,670 | -5.2 million (-3.0%) |
| 2018 | 175,473,691 | -6.5 million (-3.6%) |
| 2016 | 182,005,677 | +2.8 million (+1.6%) |
| 2014 | 179,179,899 | +16.8 million (+10.3%) |
| 2012 | 162,382,959 | +3.7 million (+2.3%) |
| 2010 | 158,661,957 | baseline |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, covering all economic activities plus households. 2022 is the newest year it has published, so the 2024 and 2026 rows are our own estimates, built on Statistics Poland's yearly figures as the next section explains.
Polish waste grew by 23.3 million tonnes between 2010 and 2016, when it peaked at 182.0 million. Since then it has stayed in a narrow band, dipping to 170.2 million in 2020 and edging back up to 174.9 million in 2022.
That flat line hides parts moving in opposite directions. Between 2016 and 2022 the energy sector's waste fell by a third, from 20.5 million to 13.8 million tonnes, while the waste produced by waste and water services rose from 21.9 million to 25.0 million.
Where Poland's 2024 and 2026 figures come from
Eurostat's series stops at 2022, but Statistics Poland (GUS) counts the country's waste every year. Two of its yearly series, waste generated by firms and municipal waste from households, already run to 2025.
Those two series match the two parts of Eurostat's 2022 total, waste from economic activity on one side and households on the other. The table moves each part by the change Statistics Poland recorded between 2022 and 2024.
| Part of the total | Change 2022-2024 | 2024 estimate (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Economic activity | -10.6% | 144,027,904 |
| Households | +5.4% | 14,665,457 |
| Total | -9.3% | 158,693,361 |
Note: Statistics Poland's Local Data Bank, waste generated by firms (115.0 million tonnes in 2022, 102.9 million in 2024) and municipal waste from households (11.6 million and 12.2 million), applied to Eurostat's 2022 figures of 161,034,178 and 13,914,876 tonnes.
The fall comes from firms. Their waste dropped by 12.1 million tonnes in Statistics Poland's count between 2022 and 2024, while the waste households threw out kept rising.
The method was tested on years Eurostat has already measured. Run from 2018 it put 2020 1.4% too low, run from 2020 it put 2022 2.1% too high, and run across 2018 to 2022 it landed within 0.6%.
Over older stretches it missed by more, up to 8.4% too low between 2014 and 2018. Most of its misses were on the low side, so the true figure is more likely to sit above the estimate than below it.
From 2025 to 2026
Statistics Poland's figures stop at 2025, where the same method gives 152.5 million tonnes, so 2026 rests on two stated assumptions.
- Waste from firms keeps falling at its recent pace. It fell by 2.1% a year on average between 2020 and 2025, so 2026 takes off one more year of it.
- Household waste keeps growing at its recent pace. It grew by 1.7% a year on average between 2020 and 2025, so 2026 adds one more year of it.
Together they give 149.8 million tonnes for 2026, 5.6% less than in 2024 and 14.3% less than Eurostat measured in 2022.
How wide the range is
At the low end, waste from firms falls by 5.9%, its steepest drop of recent years, household waste stays flat, and the result is cut by 2.6%, the most the method overshot over four measured years. That gives 140.8 million tonnes.
At the high end, waste from firms stops falling, household waste rises 5.2% as it did in 2024, and the result is raised to cover the method's largest four-year shortfall of 8.4%. That gives 167.3 million tonnes.
Poland's place in Europe and its new packaging rules
Poland's 174.9 million tonnes in 2022 was 7.9% of the EU's 2.23 billion tonnes, the fourth-largest total after Germany, France and Italy. Per person it came to 4,751 kg, 13th of the 27 member states and a little under the EU average of 4,981 kg.
The packaging slice of that total is where the rules are changing fastest. Three changes have landed or are on the way.
- A deposit on drinks containers. Since 1 October 2025, plastic bottles up to 3 litres, cans up to 1 litre and reusable glass bottles up to 1.5 litres carry a deposit that is paid back on return.
- The EU packaging regulation. Since 12 August 2026 a seller abroad shipping packaged goods straight to Polish consumers counts as the producer and must appoint an authorised representative for EPR, which Poland's register has not yet made room for.
- A reform still in draft. The government bill known as UC100 would hand the running of packaging EPR to a single state operator, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. It cleared a government committee on 9 September 2026 but has not reached parliament.
None of the three shows up in the figures on this page yet, because Poland's packaging data runs to 2022.
Which sectors generate Poland's waste?
Counted by who produced it, Poland's 2022 total breaks down like this, set beside the same split for the whole EU.
| Sector | Poland | EU |
|---|---|---|
| Mining and quarrying | 36.2% | 22.4% |
| Manufacturing | 14.7% | 10.3% |
| Waste and water services | 14.3% | 10.5% |
| Construction | 12.3% | 38.7% |
| Households | 8.0% | 8.8% |
| Energy | 7.9% | 3.0% |
| Everything else | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, 2022 reference year. Shares are rounded, so the EU column adds up to 99.9%.
What Polish mines leave behind
Mining and quarrying produced 63.3 million tonnes of waste in Poland in 2022. Almost all of it, 62.6 million tonnes, was rock and other mineral material left over once the useful part had been extracted.
That one sector produced more waste than Polish construction and manufacturing put together, which came to 47.3 million tonnes between them.
Combustion ash from Poland's power plants
Poland recorded 20.1 million tonnes of combustion waste in 2022, the ash and slag left after fuel is burned. That was 22.9% of all combustion waste recorded in the EU, more than any other member state. Bulgaria came next with 13.5 million tonnes and Germany with 12.5 million.
Power and heat plants produced 13.5 million tonnes of it, and most of the rest came from making metals. Coal generated 69.4% of Poland's electricity in 2022 and 54.2% in 2024, according to Eurostat's energy statistics.
Why construction looks so small in Poland
Construction produces the largest share of waste across the EU, 38.7% in 2022. In Poland it made up only 12.3%, or 21.5 million tonnes. Dug-out soil accounted for 16.9 million tonnes of that, and construction and demolition rubble for most of the rest.
Manufacturing produced 14.7% of the Polish total, and more than a third of that, 9.3 million tonnes, came from making metals and metal products.
How much Polish households throw away
Municipal waste is the slice most readers picture, the household bins plus similar waste from shops and offices. It is counted per person, which makes it the closest thing to a like-for-like figure across Europe.
Poland generated 387 kg of municipal waste per person in 2024, the newest year Eurostat has published, against an EU average of 517 kg. Among the 20 member states with a 2024 figure, only Estonia, at 375 kg, recorded less.
Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Romania had not reported 2024. The Polish figure has risen from 329 kg in 2018, though countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, so part of any gap is a counting difference.
The packaging slice Polish producers pay for
Packaging is the part of the pile that extended producer responsibility covers, and the part a company selling into Poland pays for directly.
Poland generated 6.7 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2022, its newest year on record and the fifth-largest total in the EU. That works out at 182 kg per person, just under the EU average of 187 kg for the same year.
Poland is one of four member states, with Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary, that had not yet reported 2023. The other 23 had, so the Polish figures run a year behind most of the EU.
The table below breaks the 2022 total down by material, with the share of each that was recycled.
| Material | Tonnes | Recycled |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 2,325,487 | 92.9% |
| Glass | 1,528,131 | 69.7% |
| Wood | 1,338,487 | 22.2% |
| Plastic | 1,219,645 | 46.3% |
| Metal | 293,472 | 100.8% |
Note: Eurostat's packaging waste collection, 2022 reference year, with recycling shares calculated on the basis set for the 2025 targets. The five lines add up to the full total of 6,705,222 tonnes.
Paper and cardboard made up the largest share, 34.7%, and 92.9% of it was recycled, against 83.2% across the EU. Wood was the weakest, at 22.2%.
Metal came out above 100%, and steel packaging on its own at 122.8%. A rate above 100% can only happen when the tonnes counted as recycled and the tonnes counted as generated are not measured on the same basis.
Who pays for packaging in Poland?
Every business that places packaged goods on the Polish market has to be entered in BDO, the national register kept by the regional marshals, before its first sale. No volume threshold removes that entry.
A producer can hand its recycling duty to a packaging recovery organisation under a written contract. If the recycling levels are missed, the producer pays a product fee on the shortfall, and it reports what it placed on the market through its BDO account by 15 March of the following year.
The full set of duties is on what producers have to register for in Poland, and the packaging rules in detail on packaging EPR in Poland. Producers comparing the tools that prepare their BDO reports can start with the EPR software built for the Polish market.
Poland against the EU recycling targets
The EU packaging regulation sets recycling targets in its Article 52, one wave due by the end of 2025 and one by the end of 2030. The table sets Poland's 2022 rates against both waves.
| Packaging | Targets 2025 / 2030 | Polish rate |
|---|---|---|
| All packaging | 65% / 70% | 64.0% |
| Paper and cardboard | 75% / 85% | 92.9% |
| Glass | 70% / 75% | 69.7% |
| Ferrous metals | 70% / 80% | 122.8% |
| Aluminium | 50% / 60% | 60.6% |
| Wood | 25% / 30% | 22.2% |
| Plastic | 50% / 55% | 46.3% |
Note: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 52(1). Poland's rates are Eurostat's, 2022 reference year, the newest Poland has reported.
On its 2022 figures Poland met three of the seven targets for 2025, for paper and cardboard, ferrous metals and aluminium, and the same three for 2030. It was short on all packaging by 1.0 percentage point, on glass by 0.3, on wood by 2.8 and on plastic by 3.7.
The overall rate did climb, from 58.7% in 2018 to 64.0% in 2022, which ranked Poland 13th of the 27 member states that year.
Almost a third of Poland's municipal waste goes to landfill
In 2024 Poland sent 30.1% of its municipal waste to landfill, against 21.3% across the EU. It recycled 31.1% and burned 21.9% for energy recovery, against the EU's 48.1% and 25.5%.
Eurostat marks 2023 as a break in the Polish series, so these shares cannot be compared directly with the years before it. EU rules require the landfilled share to fall to 10% or less by 2035.
Frequently asked questions about Poland's waste
Below are the eight questions that come up most often about Poland's waste figures.
How much waste does Poland produce each year?
Poland is estimated to produce around 149.8 million tonnes of waste in 2026, down from the 174.9 million Eurostat measured in 2022. That 2022 total was the fourth-largest in the EU, at 4,751 kg per person against an EU average of 4,981 kg.
Can Poland's waste be compared with other countries?
Only with care. Eurostat notes that differences between countries reflect consumption and wealth but also how municipal waste is collected and managed, so part of any gap between two countries is counting practice rather than rubbish.
Why does so much of Poland's waste come from mining?
Mining and quarrying produced 63.3 million tonnes in 2022, 36.2% of the Polish total against 22.4% across the EU. Nearly all of it was rock and mineral waste left over from extraction, more than construction and manufacturing produced together.
How much combustion ash does Poland produce?
Poland recorded 20.1 million tonnes of combustion waste in 2022, the ash and slag left after burning fuel. That was 22.9% of the EU total, the most of any member state, and 13.5 million tonnes of it came from power and heat plants.
Why is Poland's 2026 figure lower than in 2022?
Statistics Poland's yearly count of waste generated by firms fell 14.5% between 2022 and 2025. Moving Eurostat's 2022 figure by that count and by household waste gives 149.8 million tonnes for 2026, within a range of 140.8 million to 167.3 million.
How much packaging waste does Poland generate?
Poland generated 6.7 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2022, or 182 kg per person, just under the EU average of 187 kg. Paper and cardboard made up the largest share, followed by glass, wood and plastic.
Does Poland meet the EU packaging recycling targets?
Not yet in full. On its 2022 figures Poland met three of the seven targets for 2025, for paper and cardboard, ferrous metals and aluminium. Its overall rate of 64.0% was one percentage point short of the 65% target.
Who runs packaging EPR in Poland?
Every producer of packaged goods registers in BDO, the national register kept by the regional marshals, before its first sale. It can hand its recycling duty to a recovery organisation, pays a product fee on any shortfall, and reports by 15 March.
Images: Grzegorz W. Tężycki
