What to do about rubbish?
MY NAME is Padraig. I am 10 years old and go to Notre Dame du Rosaire. I am writing to you to tell you about the issue of rubbish in Guernsey. There is too much of it. Mont Cuet is going to be full by summer next year and what are we doing to reduce the rubbish? Not enough. Putting rubbish in bin bags is a terrible idea as seagulls rip it open to eat things in it and rubbish goes everywhere. Bin bags are rubbish too but can't be recycled as they are made from black plastic. They also rip easily so cannot be used again. We have to do something about this.
There is no simple solution to this problem however we can try to make things better. We need to recycle more and get rid of bin bags. Instead of bin bags we could have bins where you put things in freely. When the bin lorry comes, it tips the rubbish in, meaning no bin bag is needed.
We could have different types of bins for different types of waste. In Derry, Northern Ireland they have two bins but are getting a third. Their bins are for non-recyclables, recyclables and they are getting a food waste bin in the hope it will reduce the amount of food people throw away. We could try all this in Guernsey. We could continue a similar rubbish collection system as we currently have, except one week they would collect non-recyclables and the next week recyclables. Food waste could be recycled into compost. Food waste will probably have to be collected each week as it might attract rats.
I hope this letter will make people think about their rubbish and the part they play in protecting our beautiful island.
PADRAIG McCLAY
