Over half of Guernsey’s household waste was recycled for the first time in 2015.

Figures for the 12 months ending March 2015 show that 50.2 per cent of household waste was recycled after a kerbside recycling collection service was introduced on the island last year.

The service for mixed dry recyclables was introduced in March 2014 after Guernsey’s household recycling rate dropped from 46.8 per cent in 2012 to 45.9 per cent in 2013. It has been carried out alongside the existing waste collection service until a ‘full kerbside service’ is rolled out in 2016.

The States of Guernsey, the British Crown dependency’s parliament, had set a 50 per cent target in 2010, with further targets of 60 per cent by 2018 and 70 per cent by 2025.

Teething problems plagued the new collection in its first few months, as over 2,500 recycling bags were left uncollected due to the inclusion of glass, which wasn’t included in the interim scheme because of the risk of contamination to the mixed dry recyclate.

Glass collection may be included in the full collection introduced next year after trials in areas of St Peter Port are analysed to see if obstacles of contamination can be resolved.

Food waste collection is also due to be made available to residents ‘once facilities for processing these materials on-island are available’.

The collection service has helped push the household recycling rate over 50 per cent for the first time, and it remains to be seen what further effect can be achieved through variable charging, which was recommended by the Public Services Department last year to ‘minimise the long-term costs of dealing with waste’.

Currently, the £2.4-million collection system is funded centrally from general revenue (such as tax), with no additional costs for bags or collection to residents.

Charges including a fixed Parish Waste Rate of around £68 per household to cover collection charges and between £1.50 and £2 per residual waste bag and 50 pence per recycling bags will be voted on by The States at some point in 2016.

‘Satisfying’ figures set foundations for further increases

Commenting on the figures, Public Services Minister Scott Ogier said: “We have been working towards this for some years so clearly it is satisfying for the island to have finally achieved the 50 per cent target.

“This is a fantastic achievement that islanders can be proud of, and we all have a part to play in looking to make further increases.

“We are hopeful that we may soon be able to add glass to the kerbside scheme, and we are still looking potentially at separate food waste collections.

“In combination with the introduction of bag charges, which for the first time will reward islanders who do recycle and reduce their waste, these changes should see significant additional increases in recycling.

“We are currently in dialogue with the parishes, who are responsible for arranging household collections, to progress all these elements.”

Waste disposal on Guernsey

In addition to the collection service, a document on The States website gives information on recycling and disposal sites for all materials for private households and businesses to use.

However, the decision was made earlier this year to remove seven bring banks, with businesses given the option to continue running a further 38, after their use fell ‘by as much as two-thirds’ following the introduction of the collection service.

Nine ‘supersites’ remain open in Chouet, L’Eree, Longfrie, St Martin’s Manor Stores, Rohais (Waitrose), Salerie Corner, Vazon and Cobo Village. These are run by local government and account for about 90 per cent of material collected by bring banks.

The States also voted last year to remove landfills on the island by 2016, instead exporting non-recyclable waste to energy-from-waste plants on mainland Europe.

The decision was made after the authority’s 2012 Waste Strategy highlighted that the Mont Cruet landfill could reach capacity by 2022.

Plans to build an energy-from-waste plant on the island, agreed for environmental companies Lurgi UK in 2003 and SUEZ environnement in 2009, were scrapped due to costs, and the authority now argues that, with waste produced on the island falling, any plant built would be ‘too large for its future requirements’.

Learn more about waste management on Guernsey.