Science in Practice – a New Investment by RDLS, a Spin-off Company of the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw

28 09 2026

RDLS sp. z o.o., a spin-off company of the University of Warsaw based at the Faculty of Biology, has completed another investment using solutions based on natural processes.

In Tomawa, in the Łęki Szlacheckie municipality, the company designed and built a French System Constructed Wetland wastewater treatment plant. The facility will serve around 250 residents of Tomawa and Tomawa Kolonia.

A special feature of this investment is that the entire wastewater treatment process takes place without the use of electricity. No blowers or electrical aeration devices are needed, and the process does not require the use of chemicals. Wastewater flows by gravity through two reed-planted filters, where the treatment process is mainly carried out by microorganisms growing in the filter material.

It is the first wastewater treatment plant of this type in Poland where the treatment process does not require an electricity supply. The technology is based on knowledge and research conducted by scientists associated with the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw on the use of microorganisms in environmental biotechnology.

The technology also makes it possible to manage sewage sludge in a natural way. The sludge collected on the first filter is gradually dewatered, mineralised and transformed into humus-like material. It may only need to be removed after 10–20 years of operation.

The investment included more than just the wastewater treatment plant. RDLS also designed and built a pressure sewer system for around 250 residents. This is particularly important because there had previously been no sewer network in the Łęki Szlacheckie municipality.

The lack of access to sewer systems is still a problem in many rural areas in Poland. According to Statistics Poland data for 2024, there were 174 rural and urban-rural municipalities where residents of rural areas had no access to a sewer network at all.

Natural, low-energy wastewater treatment technologies may be one of the solutions to this problem, especially in small and scattered communities, where the construction and operation of traditional infrastructure can be expensive.

The investment in Tomawa was completed with financial support from the National Recovery Plan, under measure B3.1.1 “Investments in Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management in Rural Areas”.

A report from the opening and photos of the investment:
https://www.lekiszlacheckie.pl/asp/przelomowa-inwestycja-w-gminie-leki-szlacheckie-uroczyste-otwarcie-naturalnej-oczyszczalni-sciekow-w,3,artykul,1,729

Official RDLS website:
https://rdls.pl/

Congratulations on this successful investment!