Municipal waste sorting plants are currently under the greatest pressure in years – regulatory, market-related, and technological. Recycling targets are rising faster than the actual capabilities of installations, and the barrier is not a lack of knowledge or technology. The challenge is systemic: it stems from market conditions and inconsistent waste policy, which fail to create an environment that supports achieving recycling goals. In this context, a key question emerges: what will determine the future of municipal waste sorting plants in Poland?
The foundation of today’s waste management system is the circular economy (CE) – the more waste that is recycled, and the more recyclate that returns to the market, the more effective the system becomes. From this principle arise the recycling obligations: producers are responsible for packaging waste, while municipalities are responsible for municipal waste. The recycling performance of packaging waste within the municipal stream has a direct impact on the results achieved by municipalities, which bear financial responsibility for every missing tonne needed to meet required recycling levels.
A System Only as Strong as Its Weakest Link
For a circular system to function, several elements must work simultaneously: demand for recyclate, a capable recycling sector, efficient sorting infrastructure, well-organised collection systems, proper source separation by residents, and packaging designed for recyclability. Each of these areas can become the weakest link – and each requires significant improvement. Regulations and penalties alone will not deliver results. Achieving recycling goals is possible only through active participation from the entire value chain – industry, recyclers, and consumers.
The Necessity of Modernising Sorting Infrastructure
As requirements increase, sorting plants face growing pressure to achieve higher effectiveness. Although some installations in Poland are technologically advanced, the overall level is insufficient for current and future needs. The ambitious targets for municipal waste, the directions set by the PPWR regarding packaging, changing waste streams, and the need for more advanced technologies clearly indicate that modernisation of sorting infrastructure is essential.
Rising Requirements and an Eroding Business Model
Increasing sorting effectiveness entails higher marginal costs for recovering each additional percentage point of recyclable fractions. This has significant implications for investment feasibility and for further increasing process efficiency. It should also serve as a key signal for designing the EPR system. Meanwhile, sorting plants are operating in conditions that, over the past year, have significantly weakened their financial stability. The main reasons include:
- a drop of approximately 25% in secondary raw material prices1 due to a recession in the European recycling sector2,
- declining DPR prices, following the market trend,
- the deposit return system removing the most valuable fractions (PET bottles and aluminium cans), reducing sorting plant revenues by up to 40%, depending on installation characteristics3,
- the absence of an implemented EPR system, which in other countries stabilises the market and incentivises investment – as demonstrated by the Czech model4.
At the same time, costs continue to rise: treatment of high-calorific fractions, labour, environmental fees, insurance, and mandatory fire protection measures. As a result, gate fees – the last financing pillar for sorting plants – are rising and will continue to rise, translating into higher waste management costs for residents. Additional pressure to meet increasingly ambitious recycling targets will amplify this trend.
Under current conditions, modernisation of sorting plants is inevitable if higher recycling levels are to be achieved. It is therefore essential to address the key strategic questions: what should modernisation focus on, and in which direction should future sorting infrastructure evolve?5
Waste Morphology Will Continue to Change
Monitoring the waste streams directed to sorting – both current and future – is crucial. The deposit return system, the long-term implementation of the PPWR, and the EPR framework will significantly alter waste composition. In selectively collected plastics, there will naturally be fewer PET bottles and aluminium cans, affecting the ratio of 2D to 3D fractions. At the same time, the share of fine fractions, process losses, and sorting residues will increase. These streams will be critical for capturing the next percentage points of recycling.
Flexible and Effective Technology
Given the changing morphology of waste and regulatory uncertainty related to EPR, it is essential to design sorting installations that are flexible – capable of handling different streams with varying composition. At the same time, rising expectations for recycling performance shift attention towards technological effectiveness and the precision of separation processes.
Economics: A Solid Business Model
The third key dimension – alongside morphology and technology – is the business model. This applies not only to commercial operations; public installations also cannot ignore economic realities. Every investment in building or modernising a sorting plant must answer a fundamental question: should the priority be maximum technological effectiveness or optimal economic efficiency? These goals do not always align. Economic optimum is achieved at a certain level of sorting performance, meaning that in some conditions additional increases in effectiveness are simply not economically justified.
EPR Will Determine the Future of Sorting in Poland
Some argue that the lack of EPR is not a critical issue because PPWR is being implemented. This is a misconception. EPR – not PPWR – is the mechanism capable of providing financial stability, incentives, and market balance. The economic conditions shaped by the EPR system will ultimately determine whether effective sorting and preparation for recycling will be financially viable.
Sources:
- Own estimates based on raw material prices obtained from several waste sorting plants in Poland in 2024 and 2025.
- Europejski sektor recyklingu tworzyw z problemami. Rynek się zwija? – https://klastergoz.pl/articles/europejski-sektor-recyklingu-tworzyw-z-problemami/, dostęp: 14.11.2025.
- Economic consequences of introducing a deposit return system for municipal waste sorting plants – wastetoeconomy.com
- Why the Czech EPR System could be an indication for Poland? – wastetoeconomy.com
- Modernisation of Municipal Waste Sorting Plants – How to Prepare It? The Role of Preliminary Market Consultations – wastetoeconomy.com
- EPR system. Will Poland use the opportunity to create a driving force for its waste management economy? – wastetoeconomy.com
