Poznan is a city with a high proportion of green areas. They cover almost 68 km2, that is 26% of the city area. Forests (55%) and housing estate greenery (15%) have the largest share in their structure. More than half of the total area is a municipal property managed by the City. Poznan green areas have a wedge-ring spatial layout, which is based on natural terrain configuration. It consists of four wedges of greenery (Golecin, Cybina, Debniki and Naramowice) of a park and forest nature, situated in river valleys, and scattered residential and city areas. The green areas include more than 30 monuments of nature, several groups of greenery under the charge of a conservator and natural valuable areas - two nature reserves, a landscape protection area and four ecological sites as well as three areas of the European ecological network Natura 2000. The green objects with the largest area are: the Citadel park (100 ha), the New Zoo on Biała Gora (177 ha) and the Milostowo municipal cemetery (98 ha). All the green objects, besides the New Zoological Garden and the Poznan Palm Tree House, are available to the residents free of charge. The zoological gardens are visited annually by about 350 thousand people, and the palm tree house - about 150 thousand.
In recent years, the condition of the environment has improved, but there are still local risks associated with: increased emission of greenhouse gas, excessive surface water pollution and traffic noise.
According to the World Health Organization, in terms of the cleanliness of the air, Poznan is in the 751st place in the world, with the same average value of air pollution (annual levels of PM10 is 29 ug/m3) as London, Budapest and Singapore.
Poznan comes 11th in Poland in terms of sewage threat to the environment. The condition of water in the Warta River in Poznan still needs to improve. The condition of the biological elements is characterized by a moderate potential, suggesting a particular need to improve (3rd class of the water quality indicator). The condition of physicochemical and hydromorphological elements is good (2nd class).
In Poznan, nearly 800 thousand tonnes of waste is produces annually, of which nearly three quarters are waste from business activity. Most of industrial waste is exported and utilized outside Poznan, where it is neutralized or subjected to the processes leading to the recovery of substances, materials and energy.
The total amount of municipal waste collected per year amounts to 210 thousand tonnes, and has remained at a similar level for several years. In Poznan, there is about 380 kg of waste per 1 resident. Households have the largest share in the structure of the generated municipal waste (67%).
The landfill in Suchy Las, managed by the City of Poznan, with a total area of 61.5 ha, meets all environmental standards. The facility uses a modern landfill's leachate treatment system and a biogas power plant utilising spontaneously formed methane. The city conducts a selective collection of recyclable materials, as a result of which waste paper, broken glass, plastic and metal scrap are being collected. Moreover, a system for disposal of problematic waste from households is functioning in Poznan, as a part of the implemented waste management system.
The project "Waste management system for the city of Poznan," whose main component is the construction of the Installation for Incineration of Municipal Waste under the hybrid model of public-private partnership, which combines the use of the national public funds, the EU funds and private equity, is also implemented.