Is island's future going to waste?

IN JULY, the States will have its 15th debate in as many years on waste disposal. If there is one subject which defines the current political process and its inability to tackle difficult subjects it is this one.

Having come within a whisker of signing off on a giant mass burn incinerator five years ago, the Assembly now finds itself suffering from a touch of déjà vu.

There are some key differences.

For one, the size of the new plant has been reduced to the point that the burner's political nemesis in 2004, Deputy Scott Ogier, is backing Public Services' proposed facility.

And the plant has a snappy new title – a residual waste treatment facility. It includes a recycling section and an old friend, an energy from waste burner.

It is still a hungry beast, with an appetite for at least 45,000 tonnes of waste, rising to 54,000 tonnes. The EfW plant has a maximum capacity of 41,500 tonnes.

Public Services say those levels are justified. The States agreed in 2007 to limits of at least 70,000 tonnes within the plant's 25-year lifespan. That allowed for a 1.8% annual growth over that period plus there are extras including new waste streams such as wood, which by law must now be disposed of properly.

Interestingly, the 70,000-tonne figure was thought to be a conservative estimate by one of the many sets of consultants employed by the States in this issue's long history.

Enviros felt that unless the recycling levels of two years ago improved dramatically, 100,000 tonnes was a more realistic figure to aim for within a quarter-century.

That figure would horrify opponents of mass burn – and there are many despite the onset of 'waste fatigue' among many deputies – who cannot conceive of the island producing almost three times as much waste as was dumped in Mont Cuet last year.

Will the next quarter-century really see society get ever more wasteful year on year, despite the obvious costs to the environment and the public purse? It is a depressing prospect.