Investigation into green waste collections for fee

The move comes as a survey is published into the waste habits of nearly 2,000 islanders.

It included questions about whether they would use a green waste collection scheme regularly, if it was available, and how much they would be prepared to pay.

More than 40% said they were likely to use it regularly, with under-40s more likely than over-65s.

Guernsey Waste’s operations manager Sarah Robinson said the results would help direct them.

‘Many councils in the UK offer garden waste collections as a paid for service,’ she said.

‘We want to gauge whether it is feasible to provide a similar service in Guernsey, and the first step is to establish whether there is any appetite for it.

‘The survey indicated there would be a good take-up, so we can now investigate how it would operate locally, and how much it would cost.’

It would operate on an opt-in basis, with households choosing to pay a charge for regular pick-ups.

‘I know it’s one of the things that [Guernsey Waste] has considered, it is in the frame of possibility, but we obviously have to look at the economics of it,’ said States’ Trading Supervisory Board president Peter Roffey.

‘I think it does become complicated because in order to work out whether it’s possible to do that, it all depends on the value of the end product.

‘So I would certainly, as the STSB president, rely on the board of Guernsey Waste to bring forward any proposal along those lines. I’m not going to prejudge it until I see something from them.

‘What we can’t do is make the waste strategy run at a greater loss than it is at the moment because we’re really struggling to make it self-sufficient at the moment, so we will have to look at the economics of that before making a final decision.'

Islanders were asked how much they would be prepared to pay.

Just over 60% said they would pay £50 or more per year for the service, and 18% would be willing to pay £75 per year. There were 13% who said they would be prepared to pay £100 or more.

Costs in the UK vary widely. In Hampshire it costs £74 a year and users must also buy a bin. Dorset charges £59 per year, while Waverley in Surrey charges £112 to join the service and £72 in following years.

The survey also revealed that those living in St Martin’s and St Andrew’s would be most keen to see the service introduced, with 56% of respondents from those parishes saying they would probably or definitely use it.

Comments said people would find the collections convenient, but they were also keen to have collections due to the poor state of the road to the Chouet green waste site, which is often pot holed, especially in winter.

In the last two years, 56% of households surveyed used the green waste site, where there is no charge for dropping it off.

The amount of green waste taken there rose from 11,069 tonnes in 2020 to 11,363 tonnes in 2021 – a 3% increase.

Those in the Vale, where Chouet is situated, were most likely to use the green waste site, with 77% saying they did so.

Those in the western parishes and St Peter Port were the least likely to use it, with 43% using it.