Michał Mikołajczyk on the Polish ROP model: Environmental and cost efficiency, not nationalization

Szymon Krawiec, “Wprost”: How can the Polish model of extended liability of the manufacturer, which the Ministry of Climate and Environment is currently working on?

Michał Mikołajczyk: We still know little as a stakeholder and entity involved for over 20 years in the waste management system about the proposal of the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. But from the information that already reaches us, to put it mildly, you cannot be satisfied.

What raises the greatest fears?

First of all, there is a complete return by the staff regarding the assumptions of the new concept. Earlier proposed and communicated several times by the same ministry, indeed, by the same people, gave the chance to achieve more and more ambitious environmental goals, correctly defining the roles and tasks of individual participants, being important, what is important, the implementation of EU regulations, but also successfully used in other countries. And suddenly, as if by the magic wand, we have a completely different model!

What?

Completely unacceptable. A fiscal, restrictive, tax and non -environmental system was proposed.

The system is imbalance, because only one side, i.e. local government officials, enjoys the ministry’s proposal. Recalling associations with the healthcare system, which is more or less – we will tell you how much to pay, you pay, the effects will be mediocre, hence you expect that you will pay more without any guarantee of system change.

Why are local government officials enjoying?

I don’t really understand it; The previous government proposed similar, but so far not going towards the nationalization of the solution and then local government officials, as everyone was against. It is different today. Are there any arrangements not specified in the debate to all participants?

But I am surprised by representatives of local governments, because the grace of the Lord on a gray horse rides and building calculations based on such an assumption may be illusory and fatal.

How did the other pages react?

Everyone else is surprised or even shocked, in disbelief and anxiety we present specific calculations, information, examples of other systems. On the other hand, we have information from the ministry, which are incomplete and casual. The ministry says that he has made a broad analysis of all European systems in terms of extended manufacturer’s liability.

And there was no broad analysis?

Today, there is only three systems that the ministry has examined. Did you really have to choose Croatia, Belgium and the Czech Republic? Did the Croatian tax system have to be examined, the youngest and one of the smallest? Cyprus and Malta would also be good to analyze …

There are no countries similar to Poland in the European Union in terms of the number of inhabitants, the level of economic advancement, the level of recycling?

After all, we have been sharing information with the regulator for several years, including The effectiveness of packaging waste management systems in other countries, unfortunately, as it turns out, it does not meet with the interest of officials.

What threatens the introduction of proposed changes by the ministry?

Solutions are proposed that will withdraw our waste management system, and not cause us to stimulate and achieve more and more ambitious recycling levels and pro -environmental activities. The proposals presented by the climate ministry are proposals from reaching about 40 percent. recycling, and yet there are those that realize and 80 percent. And they are certainly not centrally managed by the state monopoly and officials.

What system would be the good?

If the system is to be environmentally effective, it cannot be monopolistic.

The system must stimulate and guarantee the space to get involved in it who influence how the packaging looks, how much it will be and whether it will be recycled, who pay for it.

You need to involve payers, entrepreneurs together with consumers, not a group of officials who will suddenly have to find themselves in a dynamic, business context. It must be a system that promotes pro -environmental solutions that takes into account the context and needs of all its stakeholders: entrepreneurs, waste management companies, local governments, consumers, but also a regulator, on which the obligations to create regulations implementing EU goals are involved.