The call for applications for financing the construction of waste processing facilities has started

The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, acting under an agreement with the Minister of Climate and Environment, has announced a call for projects under Measure 1.4 “Waste management and closed-loop economy” of the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment 2021-2027 program. Projects should include a request for funding for the construction of municipal waste treatment facilities in accordance with the waste hierarchy.

Subsidy for the construction of waste treatment facilities

The subject of the call is to subsidize projects for municipal waste treatment facilities in accordance with the waste hierarchy.

Eligible applicants are:

• Local government units and their unions and organizational units acting on their behalf;
• Entities providing public services in the implementation of their own tasks of local government units.

The projects will support activities involving the construction of new and the expansion or modernization of existing facilities for the processing of specific waste fractions, particularly in terms of increasing recovery capacity, including recycling. Preferred types of investments will be facilities that provide final management of waste through material or organic (bio-waste) recycling processes. In order to increase the degree and quality of recovery achieved, sorting and mechanical processing facilities for selective collection waste will also be implemented.

The resulting homogeneous waste fractions will then be sent for further management, particularly recycling or use in manufacturing processes. Projects may additionally finance, as a complementary element, information and education activities related to waste prevention, selective waste collection and recycling, as well as finance the purchase of waste containers.

Scope of project financing

In accordance with the adopted upper limit of expenditures for projects at the national and regional level, investments with eligible costs of more than PLN 12 million may be submitted to the call.The amount of funds earmarked for subsidizing projects under this call is PLN 300 million. It may be increased during the call, during or after the completion of the evaluation of projects or after the settlement of the proceedings, while maintaining the principle of equal treatment of applicants.

Financial assistance under the measure is provided in the form of non-refundable financial support. The maximum share of funding in eligible expenses at the project level under the call is a maximum of 85 percent. The value of eligible expenses.

Eligible costs may also include expenses related to the preparation of the grant application, in particular:

1. expenditures incurred on the development or updating of documentation necessary for the implementation of the project (including feasibility studies, their elements, maps or sketches situating the project);
2. Expenses incurred in supervising the preparation of application documentation.

The beginning of the expenditure eligibility period is January 1, 2021. For projects started before this date, only expenses actually incurred after this date are eligible for co-financing. The implementation of the project must not extend beyond the end date of the period of eligibility of expenditure under the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment 2021-2027, i.e. December 31, 2029.

Evaluation of applications for funding for the construction of waste treatment facilities

Evaluation of applications for funding is carried out on the basis of horizontal and specific criteria applicable to the type of project, adopted by the Monitoring Committee of the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment 2021-2027. Evaluated projects that have met the aforementioned criteria will be placed on the ranking list. The number of points collected will determine the project’s position in the list.

When and how to apply for funding for the construction of waste treatment facilities?

Applications for funding should be submitted electronically, using the WOD2021 application. In order to start working with the ICT system, a prospective applicant must create an account in the application to do so. Applications can be submitted until February 29, 2024. Documents received after this deadline will not be considered. The day the application is received is considered the day the documentation is sent in the application. An applicant may submit only one grant application for a given project in a call.