‘Guernsey is going to look like a tip’

The final phase of the waste strategy started on Sunday night in parts of St Peter Port.

Efforts had been made by the States to widely promote the new strategy, including sending information to each household detailing how the stickers would work.

However, residents in St Peter Port were greeted by piles of uncollected rubbish bags, some without stickers, others with the wrong ones, yesterday.

Residents soon took to social media to voice their opinion on the waste collections.

Samantha Barry asked if anyone had suggestions for a better system.

‘The current system is flawed and is not going to work as some will buy the stickers and others won’t, and in communal areas there are no ways to police it, also black sacks that are left outside other people’s houses and fly tipping,’ she said.

‘Guernsey is going to look so dirty and untidy with binsacks, and rubbish everywhere. There must be a better solution.’

Alice Thorington said: ‘Don’t fix something that’s not broken.

‘Now Guernsey may as well start being called Binland! As it’s going to look like a tip.’

However, Katy Holmes said she could not understand why people put their rubbish out without labels.

‘You knew it started,’ she said.

‘They must have spent a fortune on advertising it all.

‘We have several leaflets through the door, plus all over news and radio and social media.

‘I get people are digging their heels in and they don’t want to pay but please care about our streets and our island.’

The new pay-as-you-throw stickers cost £2.50 for a 90-litre black bag, and £1.40 for a bin liner-size bag of no more than 50 litres capacity.

Households now have to include a sticker on general rubbish put out for collection – failing to do so could result in a fine of £60.

In addition, households have to pay an £85 annual standing charge to the States, which covers the costs of waste shipment and recycling and a similar charge to the parish for collections.

The Guernsey Town Centre Partnership executive officer, Jack Honeybill, said he was not surprised with the issues in the first collection.

‘The thought of people having to buy stickers to dispose of their waste in an area which is traditionally full of flats and small properties, some people find it is a step too far financially.

‘That really encourages fly-tipping,’ he said.

‘The Town generally has been quite a challenge for constables because it is very hard to find out where rubbish comes from.

‘It’s a very difficult situation.

‘There is no alternative now. This is what the States has decided we have to contribute.

‘I don’t know what the solution is, we cannot possibly have a dirty town when come 1 April we have cruise ship passengers landing.’

‘The States will now have to collectively come together and find a solution, otherwise we will have St Peter Port tip as the capital.

‘They can’t bury their heads in the rubbish.’

St Peter Port constable Jenny Tasker said the situation was very disappointing.

‘On every street that was collected there have been people that have ignored or put the wrong stickers on bags,’ she said.

‘I don’t know if it is confusion or what it is, but it is very disappointing as everyone had taken such a great amount of trouble to try and make sure this worked well.

‘It’s particularly disappointing that people are putting out non-stickered bags. We don’t know why people are doing it.

‘It was something which now counts as fly tipping and everybody did say it was likely to happen. I hope that our residents will be more cooperative in the future.’