Cost of recycling a fridge or washing machine to rise

From 1 January it will cost £30 to take fridges, freezers and other large ‘cooling equipment’ to the Household Waste Recycling Centre at Longue Hougue, while dropping off a washing machine, tumble drier or dishwasher will cost £20, and it will be £10 to dispose of a TV or computer monitor.

Guernsey Waste said many households would see little impact since the charges related to items designed to last 10 years or more, and so would not be thrown out very often.

The fees will raise about £150,000 a year, which will reduce taxpayer subsidies for waste services.

‘These are not everyday purchases for most people,’ said Guernsey Waste operations manager Sarah Robinson. ‘If someone is spending several hundred pounds on a new appliance, we think it is reasonable they contribute to the cost of dealing with their old one. The charge is likely to represent a very small proportion of their total outlay and will reduce the funding which the taxpayer is currently having to provide.’

Large items can still be collected by the States via its Bulk Refuse service. The charge for collecting up to five items will increase by £15 to £30 from January.

This will be in addition to the new charges, so somebody who used the collection service to dispose of the newly charged-for items would pay for them, plus a £30 collection charge.

New charges are also being brought in for the disposal of construction materials, with plasterboard being charged at £3.59 for a 90-litre bag – the same price as a black sack of general rubbish when paid for at the site.

This fee will also apply to inert waste such as building materials. Small quantities will still be accepted free of charge.

Prior to these new charges, mattresses were the only items that people had to pay for in order to cover the cost of being recycled.

Guernsey Waste said that most of the money needed to fund household waste and recycling services comes through a combination of an annual household bill and the sticker charges for bags of general waste.

With islanders now recycling about 70% of their rubbish, the amount being raised through bag charges is not enough to cover the cost of the services and facilities provided. However, last year the States voted to limit any increase in the cost of stickers and the annual bill and decided that it would fund the shortfall from general revenue.