£2 a week is the price of 'success'
THE reaction to the proposed introduction of a 25p charge for a recycling bag has sparked a mass outbreak of hyperbole, particularly among those apparently determined to put it all into a much more expensive black sack.
Waste management locally is again at a crossroads.
Those who backed an incinerator as the quick and relatively simple way of dealing with our rubbish – though it would probably have been more expensive – will wonder how our complex waste arrangements, so embraced by the community, are now on the verge of breakdown.
In a report to the States, the States’ Trading Supervisory Board warns that it doubts that the current funding model will be sustainable in the short, medium or long-term.
So islanders will, directly or indirectly, have to pay more to get rid of their rubbish. For Guernsey Waste to break even, as currently mandated, would mean charging another £95 per household, per year.
Deputies will have to decide whether this, or a portion of it, is acceptable, how much to pass on, and how much to lean on the taxpayer instead.
The new cost of dealing with 'success' with recycling is unwelcome. It adds up to another drain on islanders at a bad time – and when proper waste management is a responsibility the island cannot duck.