Recycling kits due to be sent out to households

Guernsey Post will deliver more than 26,000 kits between now and the middle of August, so that every household has all the equipment they require before new services start.

The packs include a lockable plastic bin that is specially designed for setting out food waste for collection every week, and another smaller, counter-top plastic caddy to sit in the kitchen.

Inside these, each household will receive a roll of 150 liners, which will help to keep the containers clean and free of spillages.

A reusable, heavy duty bag is also included for the new glass recycling collections. These are designed to fold away when not in use, and have a weight stitched in to the bottom so that they cannot be easily blown around.

An instruction leaflet in the pack explains how the new collections will work. More information will be sent out to islanders in August, confirming what night their collections will be and what materials to put out each week.

Some apartments, which have communal bin arrangements, will receive a slightly different kit, as they do not require the larger food container for setting out food waste.

Distribution is being spread over a number of weeks, and covering around 1,000 households a day.

If no-one is at home for the delivery and there is nowhere to leave the pack, Guernsey Post will hold on to them for collection from its Envoy House headquarters.

Recycling officer Tina Norman-Ross said the roll-out had been carefully planned.

‘We have been working with Guernsey Post for a few months preparing for the delivery phase,’ she said.

‘In that time, all the different containers and other elements of the kit have been arriving from the various manufacturers.

‘We now have everything in place to start the distribution, right on schedule.’

She said it would take several weeks for everyone to get a pack, so islanders should not worry if they do not get one right away.

‘However, we do want to hear from you if you still haven’t received one before the last week of August,’ Mrs Norman-Ross said.

Food waste accounts for more than 40% of the contents of household black bags. It will be collected weekly, while general refuse will become a fortnightly service for most islanders.

Some of the more built-up areas of St Peter Port will have weekly pick-up for general refuse, but the frequency of other collections will be the same as the rest of the island.

Glass will be collected on the alternate weeks, and the current blue and clear kerbside bag for other recycling will continue to be picked up fortnightly.

The changes to household recycling collections will coincide with the commissioning of the new waste transfer station, currently under construction at Longue Hougue, which will process materials prior to export for recycling, energy recovery or disposal.

Separately-collected food waste will in future be pre-processed at the transfer station, but will then be exported to a specialist facility in the south of England, and used to generate electricity and produce a compost material.

The new collections will begin from 2 September, however the new pay-as- you-throw system will not start until 2019.

It is estimated that the average cost of waste and recycling collections, processing and treatment, will be £6 per week per household.