Summary:

Waste management is one of the main priorities of the state ecological policy. Therefore the law on wastes which came into force in 2001 estabishes the terms of waste management to guarantee protection of human life and health, but also to ensure protection of the natural environment according to the rule of sustainable development. Pursuant to the act, plans of waste management were developed at each level of public administration. According to these plans wastes were divided into two main groups: wastes generated in the municipal sector and in the economic sector. A quantitative analysis of municipal wastes was conducted in the paper by comparing the amounts estimated on the basis of indices of generating waste streams with real waste quantity collected in 5 rural districts of the malopolskie province. The analysis revealed that estimated amounts of wastes fluctuated between 812.5 and 1614.3 Mg∙year^-1, whereas the quantities of collected wastes ranged between 180.5 and 580.8 Mg∙year^-1.The difference between the estimated and real amount in these districts was on average 986.2 Mg ∙year^-1. Similar divergences were observed while analyzing unit amounts of wastes per one inhabitant. The value computed on the basis of indices was 223.59 kg∙M^-1∙year^-1, which in comparison with the amount of collected wastes: between 31.00 and 84.46 kg∙M^-1∙year^-1gave a difference on an average level of 165.85 kg∙M^-1∙year^-1. It was also found that in relation to the amount of wastes, which should have been generated according to the estimation, only c.a. 26% was actually collected from the inhabitants. 16 The disparity between the estimated and real values is very big. The main factors which influence it comprise: not full participation of all inhabitants in waste collection, incomplete information about all wastes collected in the district territory, illegal landfill sites and “waste management” on private properties which was often contrary to the rules of environmental and human life protection .