(This Warsaw, Poland Recycling Guide was updated in December 2024)

Warsaw is a recycling-friendly city: even organic bins are available! Poland is the first EU country in this blog, so I am positively surprised by the level of recycling infrastructure here. So, I am glad to share the new post about Travel and Recycling in Warsaw, Poland – enjoy!

The recycling rate in Poland increased significantly in the last years up to 49% in 2022 (acc. to Eurostat).

Penalties for littering public space and agricultural land are quite high: up to 1105 EUR, but in reality, cases of application are not that often. As a tourist, you must follow recycling rules as well and put waste in appropriate containers.

Government stimulates citizens to sort waste: the standard waste disposal fee (18-20€ for Warsaw) will be increased from 2 to 4 times (so can be up to 80€) if you do not sort for further recycling.

All municipal waste is sorted into 5 fractions (vs 3 fraction in 2019): paper, metals and plastics, glass, bio, and mixed waste. If you hesitate about what bin to use for your waste try this local website dedicated to recycling rules, where you should enter the type of waste in the Polish language (yes, the website was developed to be used by locals mostly, but Google Translate works perfectly).

Let’s dive into the topic deeper now.

PSZOK (in Polish: Punkcie Selektywnego Zbierania Odpadów Komunalnych) are the type of city recycling station, where you can bring rare waste type, such as wood, mirrors, all types of oils, batteries etc. In Warsaw there are 4 PSZOK centers, which are open on weekdays till 7PM usually and also are working on Saturdays too.

I’m planning to visit one of the PSZOK in early 2025 to overview how it’s working on practice, so keep an eye on my YouTube Channel and dedicated Playlist about sustainable life of expat in Poland.

Color coding for Warsaw recycling bins:

• green for glass (‘szklo’);
• blue for paper (‘papier’);
• yellow for plastic and metal (‘tworzywa sztuczne’)
• brown for organic (“bio“).

If you live in a flat you should use dedicated bins based on the color coding above. These bins are usually located in a separate building near your house, or on the first floor of the house). If you are a tourist and rent a flat then I recommend you double-check with your host about the recycling rules in this particular householding, as these rules can insignificantly vary.

If recycling bins in your house are absent (it can be the case, but rarely), then you can use one of these city street bins: the same color coding scheme is applicable here.

If you live in a private house you should use dedicated plastic bags for recyclables (also differ by color and the same color coding) leave them near the house on a dedicated day of the week and they will be taken by the government waste recycling service.

Great news! In June 2022 Poland government announced a deposit system for glass, plastic, and metal cans that will be installed in big supermarkets (in small shops it’s optionally). During 2024 retail chains, such as Biedonka, Liddle, Carrefour etc. already implemented deposit machines in their shops, but in fact the law actual implementation was postponed (again) till 2025.

One of the good and secured option will be to bring your batteries to one of PSZOK centers(read about it above in “Recycling Station” part of the article).

Often you can find battery collection points in state institutions, e.g. schools or offices. Also, battery containers can be found in stores or shopping malls that sell batteries (actually, it’s shops’ legal obligation to install collection points if they sell batteries).

Oversized electronic waste (washing machines, refrigerators, dishwashers, freezers, electric cookers, clothes dryers, TV sets) could be taken by free-of-charge service from Elektrosmieci from your home.

On another dedicated website Elektroeko, you can find the e-waste collection points map that is suitable for small e-waste objects (like mobile phones).

You can also find e-waste collection points in stores selling electrical appliances (find an example of such a bin in the photo gallery). From time to time Warsaw city administration makes such cool events (‘Ecopoukładani’) where you can bring your e-waste for further recycling and exchange it on plants! Follow Warsaw city events (including recycling initiatives) on the official website of the city.

Textile is collected widely across the country and Warsaw, particularly by Wtórpol Company: use Eco Textile bins like on the photo in the photo gallery (or Red Cross bins who is the partner of the Wtórpol Company).

One of the secured option will be also to bring your textile to one of PSZOK centers (read about it above in “Recycling Station” part of the article).

You should use dedicated brown bins for biowaste (organic) from households, such as vege and fruits scraps.

And at least two private collection points for organic are registered in ShareWaste Application in Warsaw. This app helps to find the nearest composting bin nearby – recommend you download it.

If you have unnecessary food (for example, when you already finishing your travel trip to Warsaw) you can leave it in one of the foodbank refrigerators from Wezpomoz Project (find the nearest fridge on the map).

Mixed non-recyclable waste must be placed in black containers – find examples in the photo gallery above.

In Warsaw parks, you can also find black bins for basket dog droppings (‘kosz na psie odchody’).

Expired drugs you can bring to the pharmacies from this list (the website has ENG version too). Note that not every pharmacy in Warsaw accepts expired drugs.