Poland temporarily suspended air quality controls so people can burn coal for heating homes through next April to ease the worst energy crisis in a generation. While Polish households have increased demand for coal and wood to offset the soaring energy costs of natural gas and electricity, some people are burning trash to stay warm.
Bloomberg spoke with one Polish resident by the name of Paulina Mroczkowska, who said she's already noticed people burning trash to heat their homes as a shortage of the NatGas worsens and the cost of living spirals out of control.
"It's so bad this season that you can smell trash burning every day, which is completely new.
"Rarely can you smell a regular fuel. It's scary to think what happens when it really gets cold," Mroczkowska said, a resident of Warsaw, the capital city.
Winter is quickly approaching as temperatures slide across the Central European country.
... indicating the heating season is underway.
And this is how bad things are in Poland -- thanks to the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupting energy markets and backfiring of Western sanctions against Moscow:
Last month, Law & Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the country's most powerful politician, suggested people do whatever it takes to keep warm. He told supporters at a rally in Nowy Targ, southern Poland, that "one needs to burn almost everything, except for tires and similarly harmful things." -- Bloomberg
Some municipalities in the country have rolled back environmental restrictions for this winter and beyond. The Malopolska regional assembly in Krakow, controlled by the ruling Law & Justice Party, recently delayed a vote to burn coal and trash through 2024.
New forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts show Europe could be headed for a frigid winter. People are scrambling for coal and firewood while supplies are running out.
"People are scared and they are collecting anything that can be used for burning," Piotr Siergiej, spokesman for a network of environmental activists called Polski Alarm Smogowy — or Polish Smog Alert, said.
And the panic for trash is already being seen around the country, as one mayor told local news TVN24 news channel:
"We're seeing a significant drop in garbage collection, especially when it comes to materials than could at least in theory be suitable for burning such as paper, cardboard and packaging.
"We'll fine those who are trying to poison us and our children."
One would suspect if Europeans are now resorting to burning trash to heat their homes, this may reflect Western sanctions on Russia are backfiring.
