Inspired by the INTHERWASTE project, the Municipality of Krakow has decided to implement two good practices in order to upgrade the waste management system in the city.

The first of them is related to the implementation of a system of underground and semi-underground containers. In order to carry out this good practice, the municipality modified the act that dictates how waste management should be enforced in Krakow. Specifically, it changed it by adding a paragraph that stipulates how municipal waste is to be collected from two types of containers: (1) underground containers equipped with hydraulic platforms or electrical devices and (2) semi-underground containers equipped with ground slots, which can be emptied by vehicles with hydraulic cranes.

The second good practice consists in the implementation of a repair and reuse point for products. This is connected with requirements of the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, which stipulates that waste prevention should be prioritised above other measures. In order to accommodate the implementation of this good practice, two months ago the national government amended the act concerning urban waste management in Poland in order to ensure the availability of financing for repair and reuse points.

Additionally, in February, Krakow received two analyses of its good practices that it had previously outsourced to external evaluators: ’Analysis of the feasibility of underground and semi-underground containers for municipal waste in the Municipality of Krakow, including the historical city center’ and ‘Analysis of the feasibility of repair and reuse points in the Municipality of Krakow’. The documents address issues like proposed construction solutions, legal conditions, the schedule of implementation stages, financial assembly of investment, SWOT analysis, and their environmental impact.