Municipal waste unsuitable for the recycling of so-called residual fraction are classified according to the Waste Catalog in the group 19 12 Wastes from mechanical treatment of waste (eg manual processing, sorting, squeezing, granulating) not included in other groups, in the form of codes 19 12 10, i.e. – alternative fuel, so-called RDF and 19 12 12, i.e. other non-hazardous waste from mechanical treatment.

Until 2016, this waste usually went to landfills. The prohibition of landfillig a high calorific fraction of waste, introduced on 1 January 2016, meant that many plants have a problem with the proper management (legal, ecological and economically viable) of these waste fractions. Considering the hierarchy of waste management, waste that is not suitable for recycling of raw materials should be transformed thermally with energy recovery. Pyrolysis, gasification and combustion are widely available methods of thermal waste management.

Law sources:

Regulation of the Minister of Economy of 16 July 2015 on the admission of waste for landfill disposal
Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of 9 December 2014 on the waste catalog
Waste Act of 14 December 2012.