The article discusses some specific features of the Polish mining industry which have emerged in recent decades and entailed certain environmental impacts, and henceforth waste management (quantities and types of waste, potential for waste reduction and utilisation). The author emphasises that mining activity is accompanied by siting plants where mineral materials are processed close to mines. In many cases the impact of these plants is more harmful to the environment than that of the mine itself. These issues are presented using bituminous coal, lignite and sulphur mining as examples.