WITH Suez dead and buried – for there can surely be no return – the Public Services Department must wake from its States-induced coma.

Since the surprise of last month’s vote, which seemingly killed off a project six years in the making, the department has been divided and directionless.

This sense of being unsure which way to go was exacerbated by the Spruce requete, which threatened to reinstate the incinerator and put PSD back on its preferred course.

It was also not helped by the States having told PSD not what was wanted, but what was not wanted.

The effect has been to leave PSD in limbo. A department meeting this month broke up with little progress on its most pressing topic after members agreed that it was futile making decisions on waste management that might be overturned by the Spruce requete.

What, for example, was the point in spending money improving bring banks when kerbside recycling might be brought in as part of waste minimisation.

With Mont Cuet filling up quicker than a Formula One race car, it is vital that PSD quickly regains that sense of purpose and starts working towards a clear goal.

As this newspaper has argued, that primary goal would be helped by having a united board the island can trust to pursue an immense task with an open mind. One with no members who can fall back on the excuse: we told you it would never work.

But regardless of who is at the helm, PSD needs a firm mandate.

That it will get one is by no means certain. The department’s return to the States for guidance could easily descend into a point-scoring battle as deputies disappointed by the Suez vote use the debate to highlight the inevitable gaps, flaws and contradictions in the fledgling policy while offering nothing constructive.

The Assembly must put aside the bitterness and work towards a common goal. Otherwise, a divided board backed by a divided States will have zero chance of making zero waste work.