Polish company ZEME, which specialises in comprehensive waste management services for businesses, primarily major retail chains and manufacturing companies, is entering its next stage of development. After completing two acquisitions in recent months, the company has announced ambitious investment plans. Over the next two years, it intends to spend approximately PLN 200 million on further takeovers while preparing for its first international transaction, which is expected to provide entry into the Brazilian market.
Poland’s waste management market is undergoing a significant transformation. New regulations, rising operating costs, the deposit return system and growing ESG pressure mean that waste management is no longer viewed solely as an administrative obligation or a back-office operational function.
It is increasingly becoming an area that can be measured, optimised and used more effectively from a business perspective, both by reducing costs and by recovering value from materials previously treated solely as waste.
In this environment, ZEME has consistently strengthened its position as a partner for companies requiring a comprehensive approach to waste management. The company combines operational and logistics capabilities with its own infrastructure and digital tools supporting waste-management processes.
ZEME currently employs 140 people, while its clients include Żabka, Eurocash, Carrefour, Dealz and Sephora.
Growing Scale and Acquisitions at the Core of the Strategy
ZEME has recently undergone a period of highly intensive growth, which is clearly reflected in its financial and operational figures. Last year, the company generated nearly PLN 62 million in revenue, while this year it expects to approach PLN 140 million.
In 2026 alone, ZEME expects to complete approximately one million waste collections.
A key element of the company’s strategy is the development of a comprehensive waste-management solution. ZEME is consistently expanding this model through acquisitions, integrating successive elements of the value chain.
Last year, it completed its first acquisition by taking over a company specialising in hazardous waste processing. In recent weeks, a second company, focused on processing construction waste, has joined the group.
These transactions have enabled ZEME to broaden the scope of its services and develop a model providing clients with more integrated, efficient and comprehensive waste-management support.
The transactions completed so far are only the beginning. Over the next three years, ZEME plans to spend approximately PLN 200 million on further acquisitions.
The company is actively seeking businesses operating in three segments: construction waste, hazardous waste and biowaste.
At the same time, ZEME is developing the international component of its acquisition strategy. Its first target market will be Brazil, where the company is already working with industry advisers and analysing potential acquisitions in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
ZEME plans to complete its first international transaction in early 2027.
“We are building a group that combines operational expertise with technology. The core of our model is a digital layer that enables us to manage large-scale processes efficiently and handle a growing volume of transactions. We are now considering the acquisition of further businesses that would naturally strengthen this ecosystem,” said Kacper Adamowicz, CEO of ZEME.
Technology as a Competitive Advantage
The foundation of ZEME’s operating model is an ecosystem of proprietary tools developed to organise and automate the most important waste-management processes.
The platform supports obligations arising from Poland’s Waste Database, known as BDO, generates waste transfer and waste records documents, and produces environmental reports both for public authorities and for the internal needs of major manufacturing and service companies.
It also enables volume monitoring, logistics management and access to market price indices for secondary raw materials.
In practice, this means that companies can control waste-management processes more effectively, even within highly dispersed structures comprising hundreds or thousands of locations, without having to develop large in-house teams and resources.
Technology therefore makes it possible not only to comply with formal requirements, but also to manage costs, material flows and daily operations more effectively. The same infrastructure is intended to support the integration of future international acquisitions.
“Digitalisation is becoming the key to scalability, both for ZEME’s clients and for the company itself. Thanks to the technological infrastructure we have developed, we can integrate acquired businesses and improve the efficiency of their operations more quickly than traditional waste-management operators would be able to do,” Adamowicz said.
Deposit Return System as a Catalyst for Change
The deposit return system is also providing a significant development stimulus for the industry.
As the system expands, the market requires increasingly effective coordination of processes relating to the collection, transportation, logistics and processing of packaging.
This is a natural stage in the system’s development, during which solutions capable of operating efficiently across a dispersed network of collection points while maintaining cost effectiveness become particularly important.
For businesses, this means a growing role for specialised partners combining operational, logistics and technological capabilities.
“The deposit return system is one of the greatest operational tests the retail market has faced in recent years. Its success will depend on effectively combining logistics, technology and the ability to operate at scale,” Adamowicz said.
“We see enormous growth potential in this area and want to play an active role in creating a new market standard,” he added.
An Established Business with Ambitious Plans
ZEME is entering its next stage of development with a solid foundation already in place. This includes a portfolio of clients from among Poland’s leading retailers, its own technology platform, growing operational volumes and the support of experienced strategic advisers.
These include Sławomir Nitek, former Managing Director of Action Polska, and Matthew Lythgoe, former Chief Financial Officer of Pepco Group. Both are also investors in the company.
ZEME’s continued development will be based on strengthening its control over the key stages of the waste-management process.
“The more elements of the process we can combine within a single operating model, the easier it becomes to manage costs, volumes and compliance with regulatory requirements,” Adamowicz said.
“We want to develop this model through further acquisitions in Poland and by applying the experience gained in new markets. We view those markets as a source of practical expertise and an incentive for the continued professionalisation of waste management,” he added.
Source: CEO.com.pl
