Krakow, Poland – Community Integration

The Thermal Waste Treatment Plant in Krakow  is the largest plant of this kind in Poland. Its construction was intended to close the loop of municipal waste management system in the city of Krakow. In over six years, it has thermally transformed over 1.5 million tons of waste. During this time, over 6.4 million GJ of heat was recovered in the heat recovery process, which was fed into the district heating network, that secures about 10% of the citizen’s demand. Recovered electricity in the amount of 590,000 MWh goes to the transmission network and in the near future it will power Kraków’s trams. Krakowski Holding Komunalny – the operator of The Thermal Waste Treatment Plant in Krakow conducts educational campaigns and organizes Open Day event every year, attended by over 7,000 people each year. By decision of the company’s Management Board, a circular economy strategy was developed in 2020. Residues from the incineration process are fully recycled in R4 and R5 processes, as a result of which almost 25,000 tons of metal waste, 335,000 tons of bottom ashes and 44,000 tons of other residual wastes have already been turned back to national economy.

The city of Krakow as part of activities integrating the local community, it implements a number of investment activities and modernization projects for the inhabitants of the district where the incineration plant was built. So far, the total costs of completed tasks amounted to EUR 118 million. The project of activities integrating the community of residents adjacent to the incineration plant has already covered, among others:

• reconstruction of urban roads and communication routes,
• creating new bicycle paths,
• renovation of drainage devices,
• construction of a flood pumping station and sewage network,
• expansion of flood embankments along with the construction of bicycle paths of the Vistula River,
• construction of sports fields and playgrounds, indoor swimming pool, recreation places.

Other nominees for the 2^nd CEWEP Integration Award:

Valo’Marne, France – Increasing the energy production and improving the EfW plant energy efficiency

MVB Hamburg, Germany – Extended heat utilization of the waste and biomass incineration power plant

The Award winners will be decided by popular vote during 10^th CEWEP Congress in Berlin on 15^th June 2023.

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