Recognition of Effectivity Waste Management in the Selected Urban-Rural Commune – Case Study from Poland

Characteristics of Research Unit

Stary Sącz is located in southern Poland in the centre of Sądecka Valley in the southern part of Poland (Lesser Poland Voivodeship) (49°34′N 20°38′E). It is a rural-urban commune covering an area of ​102 km2 with 23,538 inhabitants. There

are 15 villages in the commune. The largest agglomeration and the only city in Stary Sącz.

Climate

The Nowy Sącz land is usually characterized by various climatic conditions, with strong winds, heavy rainfall, and long winters. However, when it comes to the area of ​the Sądecka Valley, it is slightly milder. The average annual temperature oscillates in the range of 5-8°C. The first frost can be noticed already at the end of September, while the last frosts occur until mid-May. The largest amount of precipitation occurs in July and amounts to approx. 110-130 mm of precipitation (Figure 1) (http://www.stary.sacz.pl/).

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Waste Management

Waste management in the commune guarantees the collection of municipal waste generated in real estate, temporarily inhabited and real estate where economic activity is conducted or there are cultural and educational facilities or public utility facilities. This includes the following types of municipal waste: segregated (paper, glass, plastic, metals), non-segregated (mixed) municipal waste, biodegradable, including green, bulky, used tires, used electrical and electronic equipment, renovation and construction, expired medicines, ashes from individual furnaces and hazardous waste. Municipal waste was collected from the property with variable frequency:

• Selectively collected municipal waste: once a month
• Mixed municipal waste: once a month; and from June 1 to September 30 twice a month
• Biodegradable waste, including green waste: twice a month from April 1 to October 31
• Bulky waste, used electrical and electronic equipment, used tires: twice a year
• Renovation waste - on individual request
• Ashes from individual furnaces once a month in the period from 1 October to 30 April There is a Selective Collection of Municipal Waste Collection Point (PSZOK) in the commune, to which real estate owners can transfer the following fractions of municipal waste: plastic, metals, paper, glass, used electrical and electronic equipment, furniture and other bulky waste, used tires, green waste and construction and renovation waste, chemicals and other hazardous waste (http://bip. stary.sacz.pl/).

Waste Collection

The number of containers per household, with the current population of 23,538 people, is currently three (120 dm3), including a container for organic waste, mixed waste, and ash from individual furnaces. In addition, for people segregating waste, bags for plastic / metal (yellow bag), glass (green bag), waste paper (blue bag), mixed waste, residues after sorting waste (black bag) and a bag for green waste is used. Ashes from individual furnaces are placed in a separate container, bulky waste, waste electrical and electronic equipment are collected from individual households twice a year.

There are three main ways of collecting waste in the study area:

• Individual collection of waste, directly at the place of its generation, at home, and a display of bulky waste.
• Stationary containers, sockets, or local waste collection points.
• Mobile hazardous waste collection points through a special vehicle for collecting hazardous waste from the place of its generation.
• A selective waste collection point where waste can be delivered.

Waste Recovery and Disposal

The commune does not have any installations for mechanical and biological treatment of municipal waste, hence the waste goes outside its area [3]. In this area, there is an installation intended for the storage of municipal waste being the remains of waste sorting. This facility received waste from cemeteries, market places, mixed with concrete, brick rubble and ceramic materials.

Analysis and Discussion

The analysis of the population, which was included in the submitted declarations on the amount of the fee for municipal waste management, differed from the number of segregating inhabitants because many people, including students, continue their education outside their place of permanent residence, similarly, people work outside the commune. Some researchers (Begum et al. 2009) have shown that contractor attitudes and behaviours are necessary to effectively improve waste management. 5,107 inhabited properties were covered by the communal municipal waste management system. According to Passarini, et al. [4] the efficiency of waste management depends on various territorial conditions, in particular on the number of inhabitants (Table 1).

Analysing the numerical (registration) data concerning individual villages, the number of which is 15, it can be stated that the largest population was in the city of Stary Sącz and amounted to 9,038 people. This is a large number when comparing the remaining towns in the order of Barcice (2,681 people) or Przysietnica (2,116 people). In Stary Sącz there are by far the most houses (1,745) among other towns. Further data concerned the submitted declarations along with the number of people living in real estate and the number of inhabitants segregating waste. This commune was inhabited by an average of 6,747 people, with the smallest being 1,190. The total number of inhabited properties was 5,107, most of which were located in the town. Similarly, Panainte-Lehadus, et al. [5] showed greater involvement of the city’s inhabitants in the development of the selective waste collection. The average number of inhabitants segregating waste is 1,171 people. The largest number of inhabitants segregating waste occurred in the city (6,622). The lowest number of people segregating waste was recorded in the town with the smallest number of properties. Acc. Gómez-Sanabria, et al. [6] this result may be a consequence of the lack of social awareness about the principles of proper waste management.

The analysis of the research results showed a noticeable decrease in the amount of waste: paper, plastics and glass. In the case of non-biodegradable waste, a slight decrease can be seen in 2014-2015 (Table 2).

Other waste fractions, such as multi-material waste, metals, renovation waste, bulky waste, unsorted municipal waste, paper, and cardboard packaging, glass packaging, mixed waste from concrete, brick rubble, waste ceramic materials, and biodegradable kitchen waste (2014-2015) showed an increase. Vinti and Vaccar [7] showed that toxic waste is not usually found in rural communes. The largest amount was for mixed municipal waste, amounting to 2,699.3 Mg in 2013, with the highest average of 262.93 Mg in the reported year. It should be noted that the largest share (over 50%) was for unsorted municipal waste and the lowest for fluorescent lamps (0.0005%). Przydatek [8] showed a similarly significant share of unsorted waste in Poland. This indicates to achieve “zero waste” it will be necessary to intensify activities for the development of selective collection [9]. In general, in the years 2013-2015, an increase in the amount of collected waste is noticeable. Przydatek and Oana [10] also showed an upward trend in the amount of waste generated in selected settlements in Poland and Romania [11, 12].