‘Vast majority’ of islanders on board with waste scheme
HOUSEHOLDS are getting behind the pay-as-you-throw scheme with the number of non-compliant bags falling, according to Guernsey Waste.
The new scheme started in February, with islanders having to pay £2.50 per large black bag of rubbish or £1.40 for a smaller bag.
Guernsey Waste operations manager Sarah Robinson said that of the total number of bags that had been left uncollected, more than a third occurred in the first fortnight.
‘The situation has improved considerably since then,’ she said.
‘The number of bags logged as non-compliant has fallen consistently, from just over 1,000 island-wide in the whole of March to fewer than 700 in May. Most incidents were subsequently dealt with by the householder before we had to take any further action.
‘Similarly the picture is improving in Town, with the number of reports halving over the same period.’
On the average week night around 3,000 households have a black bag collection, and fewer than 35 bags are reported as non-compliant. Around half of these incidents are considered accidental. In total, just over 5,300 bags have been registered as non-compliant since the scheme started 17 weeks ago.
Of this, around 2,000 of the bags were in the first fortnight of the scheme.
Ms Robinson said they believed that some people had been unaware of the changes or the start date of the scheme initially or forgot to put a sticker on. But things had improved.
‘This would support our view that the vast majority of islanders are not having a problem with the new arrangements, and we probably have a few dozen households who are intent on not following the requirements,’ Ms Robinson said.
‘We will continue to try and identify them and take appropriate action.’
More than 130 warning letters have been sent out to households who have set out waste without the appropriate payment. They have been warned that they could face a fine of up to £60.
Southern St Peter Port has often been highlighted as facing problems with rubbish.
‘We are still seeing issues in some of these places, but not all of them, and we would also stress that the vast majority of people living in the areas are following the system,’ Ms Robinson said.
‘It is probably doubly disappointing for them that others are not, because it obviously has an impact on their neighbourhood.
‘We are working with the parish to resolve these issues, and have already had some success. For instance, there were some bins in communal areas that seemed to attract problems, so by removing them and getting householders to set out at their kerb the problem has gone away. We will also look to do some additional communications targeted in the problem areas.’
