Polish NEWS: The waste‑management company Eneris is encountering a new problem. This time it’s not, as in Kielce, allegedly unpaid invoices to subcontractors, but rather the planned construction of a new waste incineration plant in Bydgoszcz. Will the project meet the same fate as the incinerator in Ruda Śląska? Residents of several Bydgoszcz neighborhoods fear the consequences of expanding the Eneris installation.
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Some residents of the city of Bydgoszcz (population 330,000, northern Poland), concerned about health and the environment, continue to oppose the construction of a hazardous waste incinerator that Eneris has planned for several years. That said, the fate of the investment is not sealed, and Eneris has long insisted there is no reason to fear the expansion of the facility. But is that really so? Eneris is sparking debate not only in northern Poland.
Eneris (Eneris Proeco) already operates in Bydgoszcz—on the site of the former Zachem plant, known for producing explosives, dyes, polyurethane foams, and organic chemical intermediates—it runs a thermal waste treatment facility. The new investment therefore involves extending an already existing operation. However, for several years the company has encountered social resistance. The opposition is strongest among residents of the Kapuściska, Łęgnowo, and Glinki neighborhoods, located nearest to the facility.
The Mayor of Bydgoszcz Halts Incinerator Construction. Eneris’s Appeal Successful
Longtime Bydgoszcz mayor Rafał Bruski in December 2021 halted the expansion of the Eneris incinerator, declaring that the investment violated the local land‑use plan. The issue was the proximity to residential buildings. The mayor’s decision was welcomed by some residents protesting the plant. But the investor argued that the incinerator was necessary and that it would comply with strict EU standards.
Ultimately, in May 2023 the Local Appeals Board (Samorządowe Kolegium Odwoławcze) challenged the mayor’s decision, holding that reliance on the opinion of the Municipal Urban Planning Office was insufficient to block the expansion. The investment was deemed consistent with the municipal land‑use plan.
Eneris Proeco Invests in Its Image. The Young Benefit Most
Despite residents’ protests, signs point to Eneris having a clear path for the expansion. Moreover, the company is strongly engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR). In March 2025, Eneris Proeco and the Kuyavian‑Pomeranian Center for Ecological Education announced plans to establish an environmental education lab, EnerisLAB, where children and youth will gain practical knowledge about recycling. This is not the company’s first such initiative.
To date, the cooperation between Eneris Proeco and the Kuyavian‑Pomeranian Center for Ecological Education has resulted in ecological lessons for over 3,000 Bydgoszcz students, according to MetropoliaBydgoska.pl.
In 2022, Eneris Proeco installed Bydgoszcz’s first electronic information board displaying emission data from the hazardous waste thermal treatment plant. It was a response to demands from residents and neighborhood councils for greater transparency about the facility’s operations.
The Incinerator in Ruda Śląska Will Not Be Built. But What Did Residents Object To?
However, not all dialogues with residents have gone as smoothly as in Bydgoszcz. The proposed incinerator in Ruda Śląska received wide media attention. That project was ultimately blocked by the Gliwice Administrative Court.
“NO INCINERATOR! Today, on behalf of Ruda Śląska’s residents opposing the project, I participated in the hearing before the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gliwice, at which a long‑awaited decision was made—the court annulled the first‑ and second‑instance decisions concerning the construction of the Eneris waste and sewage sludge incinerator, planned near the DTŚ [Trunk Road]!!” wrote Wioletta Nowak on 7 August 2025 on the Meta service, reporting from the hearing.
Opponents cited the following concerns about the Ruda Śląska incinerator:
- It violated the land‑use plan
- It posed health and environmental risks
- It concentrated the impact of three installations (Eneris, Węglokoks, Fortum) in one area
The environmental NGO “Towarzystwo na Rzecz Ziemi” (Society for the Earth) demanded transparency in projects affecting the environment. We asked activists why they oppose projects like certain waste incinerators. Their response surprised us somewhat.
Piotr Rymarowicz, president of the Society for the Earth, said that in principle the activists are not opposed to thermal treatment of hazardous waste (unlike municipal waste). But “our trust in the company Eneris is zero, because it tried to build in Ruda Śląska an incinerator hidden from the public under the name ‘Ecological Energy Recovery Centre.’ Fortunately, we succeeded in having the scandalous decisions enabling that project annulled,” he concluded.
What Does Eneris Say?
On Friday, 19 October, we sent emailed questions to Eneris’s press office and communications department, requesting prompt answers:
- At what stage is the Bydgoszcz incinerator expansion project, and what is Eneris doing to ensure it is safe and minimally burdensome for local residents?
- Why do Eneris’s investments provoke such opposition in the places where they operate or plan to operate?
- Why did Eneris name the Ruda Śląska project “Ecological Energy Recovery Centre,” which may have misled some people? Would Eneris act differently today in its communications strategy?
As of the publication date of this article (25 September 2025), we had not received any response from Eneris to any of these questions.
Waste in Kielce. Eneris Faces Payment Problems
As noted at the outset, Eneris is dealing not only with protests from residents and environmentalists concerned about the safety of its waste management investments, but also with claims from contractors over unpaid invoices. According to the Polish NEWS via Hajp Media, the Eneris company handling waste removal in Kielce reportedly failed to fully settle with the general contractor for extensive renovation of the landfill at Zagnańska Street. Unpaid obligations allegedly reach as high as PLN 14 million.
We will continue to monitor this matter, especially since, according to HaloKielce.pl, Eneris was the only bidder in the tender for municipal waste collection and transportation services—but it asked for nearly PLN 108 million for three years, exceeding the budget by nearly PLN 18 million.
To sum up: the subject of incinerator siting and waste management in Poland evokes strong emotions, and the business can be more difficult than it appears. The silence of those responsible for communications in companies operating in this sector certainly does not help build trust.
Polish NEWS, Economy / Source: Agencja Informacyjna – Żaneta Jaworska, collaboration Tomasz Raczyński / Illustration: Ideogram / 25.09.2025