Zabrze - Environmentally Friendly Municipality

This spring, a group of Canadians from Prince Edward Island, which is situated in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, came to Zabrze to see how the local reusable waste segregation unit and organic waste composting plant operate there. The Canadians intend to build a similar facility with the use of the same technology and want to make sure that it is going to be a sound investment. However, such visit to Zabrze was unthinkable a few years ago, as the degradation of natural environment there placed the city on the brink of ecological catastrophe.
 The newly reestablished local government in Zabrze faced the difficult task of solving the environmental problem and succeeded at it. After ten years of continuous efforts, Zabrze has been granted the title of 'Environmentally Friendly Municipality').
 Numerous investments must have influenced the granting of the title. The Śródmieście Sewage Treatment Plant, Reusable Waste Segregation Station and Organic Waste Composting Plant have been built alongside other less visible, but equally effective measures taken to create a municipality that is truly friendly to the environment (state-of-the-art municipal landfill, limiting low emission, planting trees in the city and many others).

The local Sewage Treatment Plant is one of the largest such facilities in Poland. Its daily output reaches 63,000 cubic meters of sewage, and it treats 70% of the sewage produced in Zabrze. The modern technology used there allows for elimination of biogenic compounds, organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphor. Biogas, which is a by-product of sewage treatment process, is used for industrial purposes. Additional parts of the city are successively being connected to the treatment plant. Moreover, waste segregation station and composting plant process pre-selected reusable materials.
 All these activities have been made possible thanks to the growing ecological awareness of the inhabitants of Zabrze, who know that their money is well spent and that their efforts will bring positive results.  A program for collection of kitchen waste in special biodegradable bags made of cornstarch is the latest initiative introduced in Zabrze. So far, several thousand households have decided to participate in the challenging program. The collected waste is composted along with other organic waste (twigs, leaves, grass).

 The compost from Zabrze is a perfect fertilizer, rich in nitrogen, phosphor, potassium, calcium magnesium and organic compounds. The annual output of the composting plants amounts to 23,000 tons of waste.
 Achieving success in caring for the environment would not be possible if not for active participation of the local inhabitants in the process. This has required a change of attitude and shaping new habits. The city's educational offer is directed mainly at young people. Open house is regularly held at the segregation station and composting plant for teachers and students from local schools. The visitors are handed educational brochures and gadgets. Moreover, competitions for posters and collection of reusable materials are often held. A pink octopus is the logo of the waste selection program, which all residents of Zabrze probably know.
 The Environmentally Friendly Municipality Certificate offers a form of promotion for the city. Moreover, it can work as an additional asset when applying for subsidies from the Environment Protection Fund and EU preaccession and assistance funds. Investments in Zabrze have required great financial effort on the part of the municipality and proved its ability to obtain funds form other sources. The latest ecological purchase, a mobile sludge dewatering unit, has been half financed by the city, with the World Bank paying for the other half.