Removing bring banks sees a rise in vehicles at recycling centre
VEHICLE visits to the household waste recycling centre have increased by 20% since the removal of bring banks.
More clear and blue bags are being dropped off there following the closure of the final three sites – at Rohais Waitrose, Salerie and Longfrie – at the start of May, to save £100,000 a year.
This has left islanders with two recycling options – to use kerbside collections or drive to the HWRC site at Longue Hougue.
There were nearly 15,000 vehicle visits in May and 14,300 in June, up from 12,866 in April. This compares with 12,800 in May 2022 and 11,400 in June 2022.
Waste prevention and recycling officer Ben Henry said the number of visits to the HWRC fluctuated and was influenced by a number of factors.
‘May and June saw a 20% increase in the number of visitors compared to the same months last year,’ he said.
‘It is logical that some of this increase will be a consequence of the closure of the bring banks, although other factors may also have contributed.’
The number of kerbside collections can be two or three a month, which makes direct monthly comparisons difficult.
Skips used for blue and clear bags at the HWRC are weighed when they leave the site, so the tonnage each month is not necessarily exactly what was dropped off.
‘Nevertheless we have seen a marked increase in kerbside bags being dropped off at the HWRC, following the closure of the bring banks, which was anticipated,’ said Mr Henry.
‘For May and June, the tonnage of blue bags was up by 17% compared to the same months in 2022. That is greater than the increase seen in kerbside collections, but the two measures are not directly comparable. The number of bags received at the HWRC is also very small by comparison to kerbside, so a relatively small volume increase can proportionally appear much larger.
‘The tonnage of clear bags that were despatched from the HWRC in May and June was up by 40% compared to the same months in 2022. That is also greater than the increase seen in kerbside collection, but again the two measures are not directly comparable. The HWRC increase is based on relatively small volumes.’
