Summary:

According to the amendment to the Act on maintaining cleanliness and order in communes, a stationary a municipal solid waste collection point (MSWCP) must be established in each Polish commune or commune union and situated close to the commune center. This point (MSWCP) should exist in the commune (or commune union), which are covered in 100% by protected zone. These objects are a new element in managing of the stream of municipal solid waste in Poland, known in the European countries as "household waste recycling centers" (HWRC).
The aim of the work was developing the procedure with the use of tools enabling setting potential locations for MSWCPs in protected areas. The developed method was applied (for verification of the assumptions) in the process of seeking optimal locations for MSWCPs in the communes located in the Świętokrzyski National Park (ŚNP) protection zone. The paper presents the methodology for setting locations for municipal solid waste collection points. A method was developed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographical Information System (GIS).
It was possible to designate between 98 and 191 potential locations of MSWCPs in the communes situated in the ŚNP protection zone. The assumed criterion of maximum distance from the commune center eliminated 85% of locations. Optimal locations for MSWCPs in each commune were determined using AHP method. The main results of this research was to establish of MSWCP location for every commune in analyzed protected zone, based on the proposed methodology. The method presented in the paper may be a tool for the environment impact assessment of these investments.