Never miss bin day again

Your municipality's waste collection schedule – never miss bin day

BinMinder reminds you when to put out your bin or sacks, following your operator's collection schedule.

In Poland, municipal waste collection is managed by the gmina, which selects the company serving your area through a tender. You pay a monthly flat-rate waste-management charge into the gmina's account. The amount depends on the number of residents or water use. The gmina or appointed operator publishes the collection schedule, usually on its website, in a mobile app or on a printed calendar distributed at the beginning of the year.

Since 2020, the same five-stream system has applied nationwide: a blue container or sack for paper, yellow for plastic and metal, green for glass, brown for food and garden waste, and black or grey for mixed waste. Sorting is compulsory, and gminas often charge less when waste is separated correctly. Failing to declare that you sort your waste can result in a flat-rate charge several times higher.

The gmina sets collection frequency. Mixed waste and dry recyclable streams are usually collected once or twice a month, with food and garden waste collected more often, especially in spring and summer. Put your bin or sacks outside your property on the evening before collection or by early morning at the latest. Bulky items, waste electrical equipment and hazardous waste can be taken free of charge to a PSZOK, or Punkt Selektywnej Zbiórki Odpadów Komunalnych (selective municipal waste collection point), and many gminas also arrange regular mobile collections.

• Check whether your gmina uses sacks or containers. In many places, dry recyclable streams are collected only in coloured sacks supplied by the gmina.
• Submit a declaration to the gmina confirming that you separate waste. Without it, you pay the highest rate, often several times the standard charge.
• Put your bin or sacks out on the evening before collection. Operators may start their rounds as early as 6 am and will not return for containers put out late.
• The schedule changes when a new operator is appointed through a tender. Check the new calendar after a change of company, as your collection days may have changed.

Who sets waste collection days where I live?

The gmina or the operator it appoints through a tender sets the collection schedule. Find it on the gmina office's website, in its mobile app or on a calendar delivered to letterboxes. BinMinder reminds you the day before so that you have time to put your container out.

What happens if I do not declare that I separate my waste?

Gmina resolutions set a higher waste-management charge for households that have not declared separate collection. In practice, the flat rate can be twice or even four times the standard rate, so it is worth submitting the declaration.

Where can I take old furniture, a washing machine or tins of paint?

A PSZOK, or Punkt Selektywnej Zbiórki Odpadów Komunalnych, in your gmina accepts bulky waste, waste electrical equipment and hazardous waste free of charge. Many gminas also organise regular kerbside bulky-waste collections and mobile hazardous-waste collections.

What time do I have to put my container outside the property?

Your gmina's cleanliness regulations specify the exact time, but it is common to put the bin or sacks out on the evening before collection. Operators begin their rounds very early, and a container put out late will not be emptied until the next scheduled collection.

Everything you need for bin day