Poland's deposit system cuts municipal recyclable revenue in half, raising prospect of higher waste fees

Revenue collapse in municipal installations

Data from the first half of 2026 shows that Poland's deposit-return system, theoretically launched on 1 October 2025 and practically functioning from the start of 2026, has significantly reduced municipal income from selling secondary raw materials. Piotr Szewczyk, CEO of the Council of Regional Municipal Waste Processing Installations (RIPOK), told Rzeczpospolita that municipal installations lost approximately 50% of their revenue from recyclable sales in the first six months of the year. At the same time, the cost of waste processing at these installations rose by about 15%.

The core problem, Szewczyk explained, is that the two most valuable materials, metal cans and PET bottles, were removed from the so-called yellow bags that feed municipal sorting plants. A ton of metal packaging can reach about 9,000 PLN in value. Yet the total mass of plastic and metal waste arriving at installations fell by only 3-4%, meaning facilities must still handle nearly the same volume of waste but with far less income from selling the recovered materials.

ROP law stalled

The financial gap was supposed to be filled by fees on businesses under the Extended Producer Responsibility (ROP) framework, which would shift part of the cost of packaging management onto producers rather than leaving it entirely with municipalities and residents. However, Rzeczpospolita learned from two separate sources that the ROP law will not be passed before the end of the current Sejm term. Opposition reportedly comes from the Ministry of Agriculture and from business organizations that accuse the Ministry of Climate and Environment of choosing an overly centralized ROP model unfavorable to them.

Marek Wójcik, legislative plenipotentiary of the Union of Polish Cities board, told Rzeczpospolita that local governments have been demanding ROP for years and that the consequences of the deposit system are already painfully visible.

If the government does not pass the ROP law, municipalities will probably have to raise waste collection fees for residents. We are already painfully feeling the effects of the deposit system.

Confederation's push to abolish the system

Last week, Confederation MPs submitted a bill to the Sejm that would abolish the deposit system entirely. In their justification, the MPs cited the system's impracticality, citizen resistance, and the costs it imposes on consumers, small and medium-sized shops, and municipalities.

PET bottles and aluminum cans constituted the most valuable fraction of waste, which financed recycling infrastructure. Removing them from municipal competence leads to higher waste management fees, and the burden falls on residents again. Residents thus pay not only the deposit but also higher rates for waste collection.

The MPs also pointed out that citizens must spend time on what they called cumbersome and impractical collection and return of bottles, while any higher waste collection fees they face will not be reimbursed.

What residents face

With the ROP law off the table for this parliamentary term, municipalities will have to cover the growing costs of the waste management system on their own. Wójcik warned that the most probable outcome is an increase in household waste collection fees, as the losses incurred by the system are effectively transferred to residents. The deposit system, intended to improve recycling rates, has instead created a financial shortfall that local governments say they cannot absorb without passing costs on to the public.