Black bag disposal at Longue Hougue costlier than kerbside

New charges came into play on 1 January and Guernsey Waste operations manager Sarah Robinson confirmed that it was now more expensive to throw away a 90L black bag at the site than it is to have it collected from the kerbside.

The charge for a 90L bin sticker went up by 15p from £3.07 to £3.22 on 1 January, but the charge at the site went up by 52p to £3.59.

She added that all charges at the HWRC were reviewed in 2023, to identify where there was potential to reduce the level of taxpayer funding that Guernsey Waste currently receives.

‘The slightly higher charge for disposal of black bags at the site compared to the parish collections reflects the cost of providing this facility and the additional handling that is involved,’ she said.

‘For now, as this is currently a new charge, if members of the public arrive at the site with bags that have already been stickered, the staff are able to accept that as payment.’

It has been a busy time at the HWRC with the site having one of its busiest ever days between Christmas and New Year.

A total of 1,223 vehicles visited the site on Friday 29 December – more than 150 cars per hour.

‘That is on a par with our busiest-ever days at the HWRC, and probably reflects households having a post-Christmas clear-out at the end of the holiday period,’ she said.

The high volume of cars may have been affected by the site shutting early on 27 December when the high winds of Storm Gerrit made it unsafe.

It was also the site’s first festive period since the island’s bring banks were removed in May.

The busiest period is often seen as being in the week after New Year’s Day.

But by comparison the busiest day that week was Friday 5 January when 760 cars went through Longue Hougue.

The site also started charging for recycling large household items at the beginning of the year. With a £30 charge for fridges and freezers, £20 for other white goods, such as washing machines, and £10 for TVs and monitors.

Mrs Robinson said that site staff did report an increase in these items being dropped off in the fortnight before charges came in.

‘Where people did already have an old appliance waiting to be dropped off, there was obviously an incentive to do this before New Year,’ she said.

‘The new charges apply to items that are not replaced regularly, so no one is likely to dispose of one just to avoid having to pay.

'As well as contributing to the cost of processing old electrical appliances, the new charges provide an additional incentive for households to consider donating unwanted items that are still in good condition to charity or selling them, instead of disposing of them.’

She said that the majority of materials were still accepted at the site for free, so not everyone will have been affected by the new charges.

‘However for those that are, staff at the HWRC have had very little feedback.’