Underground waste landfills in Poland: new regulation — monitoring samples at least every 3 months, with sampling and testing only by accredited laboratories or certified test facilities
On 26 October 2026 Poland’s Minister of Climate and Environment issued a regulation on the requirements for underground waste landfills and their monitoring (Journal of Laws 2026 item 1414), published on 27 October and in force from 28 October. It replaces the 2011 regulation: monitoring sampling and testing take place at least every 3 months instead of every 6, and only laboratories holding an accreditation certificate or certified test facilities may carry them out; for concessions granted earlier, monitoring follows the concession until the end of 2027.
- § 15: sampling and testing of indicator substances and parameters in the operational and post-operational phases take place at least every 3 months and are carried out by laboratories holding an accreditation certificate (Article 24 of the Act on conformity assessment and market surveillance systems) or by certified test facilities (Article 16(1) of the Act on chemical substances and their mixtures) — within the scope of sampling and testing for which they are accredited or certified. The 2011 regulation required testing at least every 6 months in testing laboratories with a quality system implemented within the meaning of the standardisation rules, and the requirement covered testing only, not sampling.
- The pre-operational phase sets the scope of later monitoring: indicator substances and parameters chosen so that exceeding them shows a negative impact of the landfill on the environment, the frequency of sampling surface water, groundwater and water from the drainage of mine workings as well as the air current discharged from the landfill, and the location of observation boreholes, measuring points and sampling points. There must be at least three observation boreholes: one at the groundwater inflow to the landfill and two at the outflow.
- In the operational phase, monitoring covers the quantity and type of waste deposited, testing of indicator substances and parameters and control of the rock mass (convergence and geomechanical conditions, groundwater inflows, gas content); after closure it covers groundwater indicator parameters, convergence and geochemical control of soil air around liquidated vertical workings, workings inclined at more than 45° and boreholes. No post-operational monitoring is carried out for inert waste landfills and for landfills holding only hazardous construction, renovation and demolition waste coded 17 06 01* and 17 06 05* (asbestos-containing materials); for concessions granted before the regulation entered into force, monitoring follows the concession until 31 December 2027.
- New requirements apply to underground hazardous waste landfills receiving converted mercury waste (Regulation (EU) 2017/852): containers filled to no more than 80 %, made of corrosion- and shock-resistant materials, including carbon steel (at least ASTM A36) or stainless steel (AISI 304, 316L), where possible without welds, gas- and liquid-tight, with a positive result of a type test including a free drop and of leakproofness tests under sections 6.1.5.3 and 6.1.5.4 of Part 6 of Annex A to the ADR, and a permanently attached plate with the number of a certificate issued by the waste producer or holder and stating, among other things, the quantity and purity of the mercury and, where necessary, a description of impurities including an analysis report. The regulation no longer contains the criteria and procedure for admitting waste to an underground landfill that were part of the 2011 act.