Regionally Divergent Patterns in Factors Affecting Municipal Waste Production: The Polish Perspective

Abstract

This article attempts to identify factors impacting on the quantity of municipal waste in Polish 2478 communes (LAU-2), taking into account the variability of particular determinants’ influence depending on their regional diversification. The analysis covers the years 2005–2018. The dependent variable is the volume of municipal waste in kg per capita, whereas the group of determinants include: economic and human development, uncontrolled dumping sites, population density, population at the working age, migration, tourism, urbanization, dwellings and housing, retail sales, entities, education, and investments in waste management. The geographically weighted regression with spatial error term (GWR–SEM) was employed in this study. The model enabled not only the specification of the waste production determinants, but also the analysis of the variability in the strength and direction of dependencies occurring between the examined variables in individual communes. The results proved that the higher the level of education, the less waste is generated (in north-central Poland); the business entities and working-age population are crucial for the waste quantity in communes of eastern Poland; the factors most important to regional range affecting the waste quantity are urban and business development, and most important to strength are higher education and the share of working-age individuals.

Analyzing Spatiotemporal Development of Organic Farming in Poland

“…The communes also specialize in goat and rabbit breeding. Internal factors that determine the area's consistent organic farming development include the large labor force resources, fueled by migration from Ukraine and Belarus [75], considerable research and development potential [76] and growing ecological awareness. Those eastern regions of Poland, with their relatively low costs of living, are becoming popular transregional academic destinations (many of the scientific institutions focus on environmental, agricultural and medical education and research) [74].…”

Analysis of Factors Influencing Illegal Waste Dumping Generation Using GIS Spatial Regression Methods

“…Other factors that may affect the number of improper waste disposal practices are the population and its density. The population indicates the volume of waste, which is also in line with the number of waste disposal practices [16]. However, as stated by Madden et al, higher population density indicates higher residential development and urban infrastructure development, and this condition will reduce the number of illegal dumping practices [20].…”

“…The housing unit number is also predicted to be a significantly positively correlated determinant for improper waste disposal [20]. Housing indicates the number of occupants or the population, which also increases waste generation [16]. Gender is predicted to have a significant correlation with illegal dumping practices.…”

“…Agovino and Musella have found several factors that may influence separation activity in mountainous areas [7]. Antczak and Keser et al used the GWR model to predict several independent variables that may affect municipal waste production in Poland and Turkey [15,16]. OLS and SAR can be used to develop a global model appropriate for more extensive spatial data, such as a country or province, where the GWR can explore local variables.…”

Analysis of the Long-Term Mass Balance and Efficiency of Waste Recovery in a Municipal Waste Biodrying Plant

“…In the studied area (Olsztyn), these factors seem to have similar characteristics. It is also worth emphasizing that Poland still has among the lowest levels of waste generated in Europe, with an average of 319 kg per person in 2005 and 329 kg per person in 2018, whereas the EU-28 produced 506 kg per capita on average in 2005 and 492 kg per person in 2018 [30]. The amount of collected waste is presented in Figure 11b, which takes into account the data from the dispersion reports.…”