The late autumn and early winter period in Poland is usually associated with heating problems. Gas, coal or electricity prices are constantly rising, which means more money spent on heating. So it should come as no surprise that people are desperately trying to keep their home warm with whatever they can.

Polish people fuel their furnaces with everything they find, they don’t limit themselves to coal alone. Although awareness of the impact of burning rubbish on air quality is gradually increasing, the problem remains. A trip around the countryside is enough to notice different colours of smoke coming out of chimneys which proves people burn rubbish, old clothes or tyres to heat their homes. Some boast that they even burn their children's used nappies. The effects of such activities are clearly visible. Grey dust settles on car windscreens and windows in winter - this is residue from burning rubbish.

Another problem returning every year is smog hovering over Polish cities. Kraków and the region of Silesia are Poland’s most air-polluted places in the winter. The number of days when air quality there remains within acceptable levels is really low. The impact of polluted is alarming: more and more people are complaining of respiratory illnesses during the heating period.

In the Warsaw district of Białołęka, city guards visited a carpenter who heated his workshop with scraps of furniture boards hd burned in a small cooker. These boards contain toxins that pollute the neighbourhood. The carpenter explained that he used such material to save money. The municipal police ordered the man to extinguish the cooker and dismantle it. The owner of the carpentry company was fined.

Kaja Godek, a controversial Polish pro-life activist, has expressed her opposition to the inspections. The well-known opponent of vaccines, abortion and LGBTQ+ people wrote: "Leave the people alone!" Economist Bartłomiej Orzeł summed up Godek's activities by pointing out her inconsistency: "Don't vaccinate yourself because you’re afraid of aluminium, but inhale dioxins and heavy metals from your neighbour's cooker because it’s ‘freedom of choice’."

To counteract the burning of rubbish and toxic waste, the Polish government has introduced the possibility of obtaining a subsidy for replacing outdated heating boilers and furnaces. The highest amount possible is PLN 2651 (€600). Residents should apply for such subsidy withing a municipal office of their choice.

Source: Warsaw City Guard