THE deputy who pushed the States to restart plastic bottle recycling believes it could save money and landfill space. Environment member David De Lisle brought an amendment to his board’s own proposals to ensure recycling of PET and HDPE bottles was carried out locally.

‘It was an attempt to raise awareness. I felt that if we did not recycle plastic bottles we were not taking recycling seriously,’ said Deputy De Lisle, who has saved up his plastic bottles for the past year, waiting for the bins to be introduced.

Bottle bins have now been installed at recycling sites at Safeway, Salerie Corner, Vazon, Cobo Village, Manor Stores, the Airport and at L’Eree.

Islanders had already started using them before yesterday’s official launch.

Plastic bottles were recycled when the concept was introduced by the States at the end of the 1980s. It was stopped after a short while because it was not economically justified.

Deputy De Lisle said there was not the same strength of initiatives or concerns over the rate of landfill at the time.

Now, the escalation in oil prices has made recycling plastic more attractive and Deputy De Lisle said demand was outstripping supply. Recycling the bottles also cuts emissions and energy rates, he added.

‘The price of plastic has gone up no end for PET 1 – it’s around £200 a tonne,’ he said. The price for HDPE, most commonly used for shampoo bottles, is lower, he added.

‘It’s going to cost £100 to £120 a tonne a time to deliver, so it’s going to cost us something to begin with, but I’m hoping it will sustain itself without a cost to the States.’

It costs £50 to £60 per tonne to bale and transport the bottles to Lancashire where they are sorted and processed into granules.

‘Right now, if we were going to put this into Mont Cuet it would cost us £86 a tonne,’ said Deputy De Lisle.

‘Next year the charges are going up to over £100 a tonne, so the fact is really it’s a steal of a deal for us – there’s a net saving to the States.’

Plastic makes up about 11% of the average household waste.

‘It’s a double message: you are doing your best to divert waste from landfill and doing a significant part to save natural resources,’ said Environment’s recycling officer Jan Dockerill.

‘We’re sure this is going to be a big success. We had a lot of people very interested about when this would be available and I’m sure it will be well received.’

She added that almost all plastic bottles were made from PET or HDPE and people should check the symbols, usually on the base, to find out.

The bottle may also carry the numbers one or two inside a triangle.

‘Please wash them and squash them and make sure the bottle tops are removed, as they’re made from different plastic and can’t be recycled.’

Only the specified type of plastic bottles should be put in the bins.

It is not currently intended to extend the plastic bottle recycling into the kerbside trials.