Guernsey Press

First batch of processed waste leaves Longue Hougue

EXPORTS of processed waste began for the first time yesterday as commissioning of the new waste management facilities at Longue Hougue reached another milestone.

Published
The first shipment of household waste is loaded up at Longue Hougue recycling plant to be sent off-island. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 23367240)

Since last week household waste has been diverted from Mont Cuet to the new facility.

Guernsey is shipping food waste and household waste to two different facilities.

Two tanks of pre-processed food waste travelled to Poole aboard Channel Seaways MV Valiant, from where it began the 40 mile road journey to a treatment facility near Warminster, Wiltshire.

The material will then undergo a process known as anaerobic digestion, to produce electricity, liquid fertiliser and compost.

General commercial and household waste is being turned into RDF.

That is mechanically shredded at the transfer station and some residual metal removed before being compacted and baled.

These are then loaded on to trailers, ready for shipping via scheduled roll-on, roll-off freight services to the UK.

Guernsey has signed a contract with international waste export specialist Geminor UK. The company is responsible for the RDF from the moment that it leaves the transfer station. The first trailers left the island yesterday.

The company has identified an energy recovery facility at Jonkoping, Sweden, where it intends to export material.

Testing of the transfer station began in mid-November, behind earliest estimates of October, although States Trading Assets has said that was not a deadline.

New household waste charges will come into effect from the start of 2019, including a new pay-as-you-throw element for general refuse, starting in February. Under the new scheme, households will pay a parish charge, a fixed £85 charge to the States and £2.50 per black sack.

Up to £32m. has been put aside to pay for the new infrastructure at Longue Hougue.