Ecological department to be launched with Gdansk city guard

A local solution to mitigate a global problem

The City Guard of Gdansk will very soon have a new department, commissioned to assure the environmental protection through regular checks. Guards will take measures to ensure that the provisions regarding cleanliness and order are not violated in the Polish city. This, of course will happen in cooperation with the organizational units of the City of Gdańsk and other entities responsible for environmental protection. The new structure will be divided in two:

The Environmental Protection Section, whose tasks will include activities for clean air, such as conducting inspections in the field of waste incineration and sampling of ash for testing. In addition, officers will check sewage disposal, locate common littered areas, illegal garbage dumps in particular, and carry out activities to determine the perpetrators and remove waste.

Waste Control Section, operating in close cooperation with the Municipal Department. It will deal with comprehensive control of municipal waste management, including the enforcement of property and cleanliness obligations from property owners resulting from the Act on maintaining cleanliness and order in municipalities and local law.

18 guards will work in the Ecological Department. The new unit  will be equipped with a mobile laboratory, electric vehicles, cameras and a drone. Until the beginning of December, recruitment of employees is being carried out so that the department could start operating next year. The city is looking for people who care about the natural environment and would like to work for its preservation. Activities are also underway to organize the premises and purchase the necessary equipment.

First team already working

Meanwhile, as the heating season has begun, the emergency number receives numerous notifications from residents about the incineration of waste. That is why on November 4 a special team for property control consisting of 4 guards was established. Their task is to deal with cases of suspected waste incineration.

Ash sampling is one of the tools that the agents will use to fight the burning of garbage at home. The guards will take samples, which will then go to the laboratory for analysis. As per the law, those who thermally convert waste outside the waste incineration plant are subject to arrest (for up to 30 days) or fines (up to PLN 5,000). Thus, the city guard may also issue a fine of between PLN 20 and PLN 500.