This Is Guernsey

By Joel de Woolfson

THE States should be looking at exporting the island’s waste to France or Germany.

The topic was discussed yesterday evening by the people’s independent panel on waste disposal.

‘The Public Services Department has come to the conclusion that exporting isn’t an option, but we, as outsiders, are challenging that,’ said panel member Barrie Mealing. He estimated that it would cost about £2.5m. per year to export 20,000 tonnes of waste to France.

‘But if we were going to do that we would need total commitment and source recycling to get the figure down,’ he said.

Members discussed the potential of increasing recycling significantly to the point where the amount of waste dropped to a level which would enable export.

The States decided last year that Public Services must find a facility that would deal with 45,000 tonnes of waste a year, increasing to 70,000 tonnes over 25 years.

But Mr Mealing said he thought that with total commitment to recycling that total could be as low as 20,000 tonnes.

‘My initial sums are that it’s cheaper to export it if you can reduce the amount,’ he said.

‘If you really want to reduce waste and get commercial refuse down to 20,000 tonnes, it will take a big change of attitude in Guernsey and will certainly require roadside recycling.

‘For me, the economics of an incinerator for 60,000 people do not add up.’

Another panel member, Sarah Breton, said the States had to set up the channels to make possible the recycling of more waste.

‘I think people and businesses would recycle more if there were the avenues available to them,’ she said.

She said the States had to find a means whereby materials such as yoghurt pots and supermarket packaging could be recycled.

‘It is legislation in Germany that you have to recycle,’ she said. ‘What can be recycled has to be. But the government has to set up the channels for waste disposal if that’s going to happen here, which I think it should.’

She told the panel that Germany and France were eager to have other countries’ waste and would pay for it.

‘It’s because of the success of their recycling programmes,’ she said.

‘France and Germany are screaming out for waste and willing to pay for it because their incinerators are not running at full capacity, so they are not making money.

‘So why are we not looking at exporting our general waste to these countries?’