‘Think of the men who collect them, don’t make rubbish bags too heavy’
HOUSEHOLDERS are being asked to ensure that any rubbish bags they put out for collection are not too heavy for waste contractors to lift safely.
It follows occasional requests for clearer guidance from those who may have had their bag left behind.
Guernsey Waste is liaising with the parishes, which provide the collections, to see if any further clarification can be provided.
Guernsey Waste operations manager Sarah Robinson said such instances were rare, so most people are already exercising their own judgement.
If a bag has to be left behind, contractors place a sticker on it to explain the most likely reasons. These include being put out on the wrong week or not having the correct payment sticker, using an oversized bag, or being too heavy for them to lift safely.
The stickers also provide a contact number for Guernsey Waste, in case the household requires further advice on what to do next.
‘If we get a call from someone whose bag was not collected, if it had the correct payment sticker, the correct size bag, and the correct night, then the chances are it was too heavy to lift safely,’ said Miss Robinson.
‘By the nature of the job, they are strong, fit individuals, therefore 99.9% of the time there is no problem at all.
‘However they don’t just have to pick bags up, but carry them and be able to raise them above chest level and into the back of the collection vehicle, without injuring themselves.’
Guernsey Waste got some calls from people who did not know why bags had been left behind. When it was explained to them that it was a safety issue for the collection crew, they were quite reasonable about it.
‘However we have some instances where households are still not happy and feel the guidance is not clear enough,’ said Miss Robinson.
Guidance was issued recently to parishes in an effort to resolve this. On reflection, it was thought this was likely to cause more confusion and, given the relatively small scale of the issue, it was withdrawn.
Guernsey Waste will discuss the matter with the parishes and waste contractors and in the meantime has apologised for any confusion.
Instructions on the payment stickers for general waste include a warning of not overfilling bags, in case they become too heavy.
Miss Robinson said the practice pre-dated the introduction of the pay-as-you-throw charges.
‘The collection contractors genuinely don’t want to make life hard for anyone, but they also have to be able to do the job safely. We fully support them in that regard and would ask everyone to be understanding.’
If people do have heavy waste – one of the most common is cat litter – it is recommended they use a smaller bag and use one of the stickers for bags up to 50 litres in capacity.
There have also been occasions when people had put heavy metal items in with their rubbish.
This was always discouraged, as it could cause costly damage to the equipment at the waste transfer station.
Metal can be recycled free of charge at Longue Hougue.
