An overview of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in Poland has been presented. The processes of waste generation and composition have been described and a comprehensive review of MSWM in Poland has been provided, covering some of the important aspects of waste management, such as the current status of waste collection, transport and disposal in Poland. An additional aim of the present work was to identify the potential barriers and the factors affecting waste management as well as provide recommendations for system improvement in Poland and other similar developing countries. An analysis shows that the state of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Poland is not yet as developed as in many other EU countries. Landfilling is still the predominant method used for the disposal of MSW. Composting and incineration are also used but refer only to a small percentage of the total. According to the latest data (31st December 2014), around 84% of MSW was collected and transported and that ca. 53% was disposed of in landfill, ca. 7% was incinerated at waste-to-energy plants, ca. 11% was treated at organic waste recovery plants and 23% was delivered to sorting. The average generation rate of MSW was 293 kg/capita/year. Generally, recycling in Poland is on the increase, especially concerning easily collectable and recyclable materials such as paper, plastics, glass and metals. Around 37% of MSW collected selectively is recycled.
Sand has been considered to be something of an immeasurable quantity. There are many indications that this view is no longer valid and that the limiting of natural aggregates usage is doubly justified. Firstly, the extraction of natural aggregates is expensive and has a huge impact on the environment. The main issues in sand and gravel mining are the large areas that are affected, ground water level changes, illegal mining, unsuitability of desert and marine sand, and costs of transport. Secondly, metallurgical waste can be used as a substitute for natural aggregates. This is doubly beneficial—the waste is recycled and the use of natural aggregates is reduced. Waste is stored in landfills that take up large areas and there is also the possibility of ground and groundwater pollution by hazardous compounds. The research presented in this article focuses on the technological conditions of using metallurgical waste in its original form and as a component of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). The use of metallurgical sludge waste or crushed or round RCA to produce concrete deteriorates the consistency and does not significantly affect the air content and density of the concrete mix. RCA lowers the density of hardened concrete. Metallurgical sludge waste or RCA usage adversely affect the absorbability and permeability of concrete. Concrete containing metallurgical sludge waste is of higher compressive strength after 7 and 28 days, with up to 60% of waste as a sand replacement. RCA concrete achieved higher compressive strength also.
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