Early Warning System

Countries

Poland

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Wierzbica

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Oct 22, 2024

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Bioelektra Wierzbica Sp. z o.o.

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Infrastructure
Law and Government
Water and Sanitation

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 23.82 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 95.4
Converted using 2024-10-22 exchange rate.

Bank Documents

Translation: Bioelektra Wierzbica Waste Processing (Polish)

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Feb 24, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Nov 7, 2024

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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of a senior debt facility to Bioelektra Wierzbica in the amount of up to PLN 95.4 million (ca EUR 22.3 million equivalent) to finance the construction and operation of a new municipal solid waste ("MSW") processing plant, with an annual capacity of ca 150,000 tons of mixed MSW, located in Wierzbica, Mazowieckie voivodeship, Poland. The new plant will comprise a reception hall, state-of-the-art autoclaving systems, an advanced sorting line and bio-drying chambers.

Wierzbica will use a patented RotoSteril technology that utilises sterilization of waste which i) effectively removes the need for MSW landfilling (landfilling diversion in excess of 95%) and ii) maximises material recovery. As a result, mixed municipal waste will be largely transformed into usable green products aligned with the circular economy principles, reducing the overall environmental impact and promoting sustainability in waste management. The RotoSteril technology's unique feature and key differentiator relative to all competing waste processing technologies will be the ability to separate and extract sterile, biodegradable organic material, which today makes up to 40% of mixed municipal waste.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Categorised B (ESP, 2019)) as the Environmental and Social ("E&S") impacts associated with the processing and recovery of municipal, non-hazardous waste, are generally site specific, readily identified and addressed through effective mitigation measures proposed.

The ESDD assessed the construction and operation impacts of the project in the immediate vicinity, as well as the transport of waste to the site.

The waste processing plant is a new facility being constructed on a site 3km west of the village of Wierzbica on undeveloped land with no nearby nature protection areas, or cultural or archaeological sites. Surrounding land use consists of small industrial plants, trading and service companies, with a single farmhouse 400m away. There are no significant projects planned in the close vicinity of the project area. Due to this location, there are no biodiversity impacts and no resettlement or economic displacement impacts. The impact from air emissions, odour and noise will not exceed a radius of 100 meters from the plant's boundary.

Fire hazards at the facility are significant due to the nature of the materials processed, stored, and handled. ESAP measures have been included to conduct a fire safety assessment and obtain consent from relevant stakeholders over proposed solutions for firefighting, and then develop a fire safety management plan and monitor conditions on site. The current design of stormwater means that there is not a separate system for collecting seepages or leakages from incoming waste feedstock.

Traffic increases are relatively small against the baseline, especially given the industrial nature of the site location. However, considering the increase in truck movements and the cumulative impact of 3rd party industrial vehicle movements in the area, a traffic management plan will be put in place to ensure noise impacts from truck movements are limited. It is expected that the on-site GHG emissions are higher than a standard MBT, but the overall emissions are lower when the emissions saved from reduced landfill are considered.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

PLN 95.4 million loan (ca EUR 22.3 million).

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Bioelektra Wierzbica Sp. z o.o., a special purpose vehicle ("SPV") established in Poland for the sole purpose of developing and operating a mixed municipal solid waste ("MSW") processing plant in Wierzbica, Poland. The SPV is 51% owned by Bioelektra Group, which will change its name to Bioelektra Infrastruktura Polska before the end of 2024 and 49% by its local private partner, Green Petrol Sp. z o.o..

Bioelektra is a waste management company based in Poland, specialized in innovative waste processing which includes autoclaving of waste allowing for higher rate of waste recovery and recycling.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Bioelektra Wierzbica Sp. z o.o.	Client	-

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION

Grzegorz Zambrzycki
bioelektra@bioelektra.com
+48 22 245 20 00
www.bioelektra.com
ul. Jasna 1/307 00-013 Warsaw Poland

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html