From January 1, the EU Directive is in force in Poland, which prohibits the throwing of clothes and other textile products into mixed waste containers. There is a penalty for failure to comply with the regulations in the amount of increasing the fees for garbage collection by up to 100 percent.
– Information It has not met with the enthusiasm of society about the need to segregate the next waste fraction. (…) It may be difficult for us as consumers to find answers to questionwhat textiles are suitable for segregation, and what not and what are textiles at all – He speaks for tvn24 Dr Agata Rudnicka, an expert from the Faculty of Management at the University of Lodz.
Where to throw away clothes? The government did not take care of it. He took the creation of a gray zone
Textile waste should be returned to the selective municipal waste collection point (PSZOK). There must be at least one such point in each commune. However, the commune did not get additional funds for the collection. Dr Rudnicka, on the other hand, points out that the very obligation to segregate will not cause that we suddenly start strictly complying with the regulations. As a result, there is a risk that we will additionally load the environment with these waste – wild clothes dumps will start or textile waste will simply reach mixed waste again.
The president of the “Polish Recycling” Association Sławomir Pacek has a similar opinion. – Clacing textile waste to PSZOK by individual residents of individual municipalities is a serious burden and an excuse to the appearance of a gray zone. (…) there is a high probability of abandoning used clothes in ditches or forests – PAP expert said. In his opinion, residents should have easy access to places where they can leave textile waste.
Such a solution may be to throw clothes into the existing containers of assistance organizations such as PCK or Caritas. But often things that go there in 99 percent are not suitable for further use – he tells Polsat Tomasz Kopytowski, director of Caritas of the Archdiocese of Lodz. Therefore, there were fears that the problem would grow, and the aid containers will completely change the garbage cans.
Some cities, e.g. Łódź, have collaborated with a private company that put 50 containers on textile waste in the city. The company receives and sorts clothes, it sells part in second-hand second, and some give some to the needy. Częstochowa, on the other hand, introduced a system of receiving clothes straight from home, and for free. However, they only take clean clothes in good condition, the others need to be taken to PSZOK. The Ministry of Climate and the Environment encourages such cooperation, which argues that although municipalities incur costs, they can also participate in the profits of companies with which they will sign contracts for the reception of textiles.
For many municipalities it can be the only solution. Textiles do not exceed two percent. waste, so adding an additional, rare container that would have to empty a separate garbage truck, raises the cost of waste export. This is a problem not only for small municipalities, but also the largest ones. The Warsaw town hall is also covered with additional costs for the residentswhich could generate containers for textiles, and therefore did not impose an obligation on the cooperative. But only four PSZOKs are available for 1.85 million inhabitants of Warsaw, to which you can take clothes.
We asked the capital's office, what plans have. “We do not intend to set additional containers for clothing and textiles in Warsaw. However, we are still working on new solutions for residents ” – the office wrote back. Instead of additional containers, it is plans to enable mobile PSZOKs to collect textiles Their number.
Returning to Warsaw, we learned that the municipal company MPO is conducting talks with district offices regarding the setting of additional containers for clothing and textiles. “Regardless of the results of these conversations, numerous containers of non -governmental organizations or foundations are set up in the city, intended for collecting clothing and textiles, including over 1000 PCK containers” – informs the office. In January 2025, 32 tons of waste came to Warsaw's PSZOKs. “From the beginning of 2025, we have noticed an increase in the amount of waste collected in PSZOKs and the number of inhabitants visiting PSZOK-I compared to last year”-informs the office, while not providing accurate data.
Such a large reform, and so ill -considered
Sławomir Pacek believes that it is a mistake to drop financial responsibility for the implementation of new regulations only on municipalities and residents. As he says, regardless of whether the textiles will go to PSZOKs or private containers, the collection costs will remain on the side of municipalities and residents. In his opinion, the costs should be attended mainly by producers and sellers of clothes as part of the extended responsibility of producers (ROP).
Since the manufacturer is able to engage such huge financial resources, urging consumers to shop, he is also able to spend a fraction of this amount for waste management
– assessed the expert.
Dr. Agata Rudnicka also pointed to the disturbing reluctance of consumers themselves to segregate textile waste. In her opinion, this should lead the authorities even more to organize selective collection in such a way that citizens naturally join the recycling process. All experts also emphasize the importance of social education on the segregation of textiles.
– We should feel that we have the support of the authorities, e.g. easy access to containers in close proximity, and segregation itself is a natural activity, not forced action. All hope in developing this idea, i.e. the expansion of the logistics system, which will cause the ease of getting rid of waste and thus we will be happy to sort it – summed up Dr. Agata Rudnicka.
An additional difficulty is that for many years illegal containers have been placed in Poland, which collect clothes only for commercial purposes. They are often marked with foundation stickers that do not exist with the owners of companies that cannot be found. The clothing inserted into them does not reach people in need, but is simply sold.
Clothes are a growing problem
The average inhabitant of the European Union buys 26 kilograms of clothes a year. In turn, about 11 kilograms of clothing and footwear per person lands in the trash every year. The vast majority are not processed again. Meanwhile, the production of every piece of clothing means emissions of greenhouse gas, consumption water and other environmental loads.
The so -called fast fashion (especially large, foreign platforms) and utilization of online clothes are becoming a growing problem. According to the data referred to by the ministry, from 22 to 42 percent of returned clothes is destroyed.
The climate ministry is currently working on the so -called extended responsibility of producers for plastic packaging, and at the level of the European Union similar regulations for the clothing industry are negotiated.