Need to build faith in new waste system

Indeed, the initial target was to hit 60% by this year, but the delays, twists and turns that have been endemic in the strategy’s history led to that being pushed back another five years.

Yesterday we learnt that provisional figures put the latest household figure at just beyond 50% – the rate has been stubbornly stuck in a similar range even with the introduction of the kerbside recycling trial. The last noticeable leap was when a decision was made to change the calculation to include green waste in the figure – nothing had really changed.

Critics argue the target, which also includes getting to 70% by 2030, has led to an unnecessarily costly strategy. As consultants modelled back in 2008, the only way Guernsey would get to 60% was to introduce food waste collections and pay the multi-million pound bill for that to happen.

The recycling figure acts as a driver, but it does not tell the whole story. The amount of waste being produced by the island is more than half what it was back in the mists of time when a 70,000 tonne incinerator was about to be built.

Manufacturers are under pressure internationally to cut packaging further – the island will benefit further from that. When the new pay-as-you-throw charges come in next year responsible islanders will have their minds concentrated even more on the amount of black bag rubbish they are left with.

The hope would be this will also help drive people to use less or re-use more. It is always going to be better not to produce waste in the first place rather than concentrate solely on hitting a recycling target and pay the costs that entails.

Early reports suggest a good level of compliance with the new process of separating out food waste and kerbside recycling collections.

This period is vital to iron out problems with the new system – the States and the contractors have to get things right to build public confidence before the painful bills start coming in to households.

With the infrastructure being built, food caddies having been delivered, and export contracts signed, there is now no turning back.