Tuesday 25 June 2013
Kerbside recycling could be launched later this year or early next year after all 10 parishes signalled they were keen to be involved.
Public Services has been liaising with the Douzaines since March, when it announced plans to introduce kerbside recycling for most materials currently collected through the bring bank sites. The Department subsequently invited parishes to put forward proposals to involve their existing refuse contractors in providing the separate collections.
Public Services Minister Deputy Paul Luxon said kerbside recycling was a key element of the island's waste strategy, and agreement from the parishes was 'great news'. The Department now has to present a business case to Treasury & Resources to secure funding for the proposed interim scheme.
Deputy Luxon said in the meantime it would progress plans to launch the service as soon as possible.
'Kerbside collections will make it simpler and more convenient for islanders to recycle, and we are very confident this will help lift our recycling levels significantly. That will reduce the amount of waste we have to dispose of, which is a key priority for our waste strategy,' he said.
'All the parishes are on board which is great news, and it also means the existing parish waste contractors will be involved in the interim scheme. We will now be working with the Douzaines to finalise the details, and present our business case to Treasury & Resources. We can then look to begin the roll-out, including getting information out to islanders so they know how the new service will work and how they can make best use of it.'
The interim kerbside scheme will include paper, cardboard, plastic, food and drinks cartons, tins and cans. Public Services also plans to collect glass, but this will initially be only on a trial basis involving a limited number of homes.
Bring banks will continue to be provided for glass, while its inclusion in kerbside collections is evaluated, and for materials collected in the new service.
Deputy Luxon said one of the purposes of the interim scheme was to be able to test some elements.
'The initial scheme will be as close as possible to what we expect the final service will be. However there are specific challenges in collecting glass, such as the additional noise at night, and the fact that when it's mixed in with other materials it can contaminate them,' he said.
'The interim scheme will enable us to trial such elements, and also make adjustments based on experience we gain before finalising the long-term arrangements. That is a sensible approach.'
It is estimated the interim scheme will cost around £1 million a year to operate - equivalent to less than £1 a household per week. This will be paid from the waste strategy fund, which is accumulated from the surcharge at Mont Cuet, so there will be no additional charge to the public.
The waste strategy also includes separate collections for food waste, once facilities for processing this material on island have been set up. A plant is expected to be operational in 2016, or earlier, and the kerbside service will then be extended to include this.
The collection and processing of materials under this final scheme will be subject to a full tendering process, and funded through waste charges.
