Proper waste management is one of the fundamental elements of the economy that has lead to ensure the economic security of the country. Without a ratinal and effective waste management there is a risk of many problems in such areas as energy, agriculture, food, health status of society. According to principle of subsidiarity, promoted by the European Union decision-making system in waste management and other segments of economy should be designed so that decisions are taken as close to citizens. The European Union should intervene only when action on local, regional or national level is not the optimal solution. The community is positioned closest to the people in Poland. It has been equipped with the number of operational tasks in the field of the municipal waste management. On the other hand, the European Union is to set strategic objectives and the creation of standards that must be observed in the management of municipal waste. This has lead to the creation of the effective waste management in Europe. The main target of the paper was to present the current system of decision-making in the waste management and judge its performance. It is based on the analysis of inner and international documents as well as secondary empirical data desribing the results achieved in the economy of waste in selected large cities operating on district rights.