Guernsey Press

Plastic bags do not go into landfill

IF THERE is one thing that really winds me up, it is wannabe eco-warriors talking rubbish. Now, that is not talking about rubbish, it is just spouting untrue or incorrect statements and trying to get people to support their fake news. Let me make it clear, I am a passionate recycler and in the past have been a Greenpeace supporter, so I am certainly not someone who is inconsiderate or uncaring about the environment.

Published

Recently in the Press we had a lady handing an online petition to Environment president Barry Brehaut regarding the banning of single-use plastic bags, as they go into landfill. I am always very wary of online petitions; it is so very easy to jump on the bandwagon and click on things without thinking them through, something which so many of our deputies seem to do. In this particular case, the lady is very wrong on two counts. A lot of dog owners use plastic bags as dog poo bags, so they are then no longer single-use.

However, and far more importantly, plastic bags in Guernsey do not go into landfill. They are mixed with the general waste, wrapped and transported to the UK for onward incineration in whichever country offers the best price, currently Sweden. Plastic bags are a derivative of oil, so they have a calorific value for incineration. As little as possible goes into Mont Cuet, as they want to extend its life as long as possible for hazardous items like asbestos for instance.

It is deeply regrettable that someone like Deputy Brehaut was not in possession of these facts, particularly in view of his title, and I am sure all the deputies would at some time have been offered the chance to see the waste site for themselves. I believe that private tours are available and various groups like the Women’s Institute have seen the plant and how it works. There is a public perception that it was £30m. for a shed, but in reality much of the cost was for the sophisticated equipment inside it. I know that some staff were sent to the UK to see similar plants working and to find out what, if any, problems there were. This has to be commended, as we were not guinea pigs for untested ideas.

Anyway, deputies need to be aware of actual facts before accepting petitions, not that petitions do any good anyway – was there not a petition with 3,000 signatories asking for Deputy Brehaut’s resignation as E&I president? Fat lot of good that did us, he and his cohorts are still squandering our taxpayers’ money. What was his last faux pas, ‘We are not spending taxpayers’ money, it is coming from first registration charges’. Well, we bought a new car, the first registration fee was over £600 and we are taxpayers. Therefore we, as taxpayers, paid over £600 to the States of Guernsey, so he is actually spending taxpayers’ money on his own little foibles. But meanwhile whilst he is spending our cash on follies and fripperies, we cannot afford to give our nurses a decent pay rise.

TREVOR HOCKEY

Trev’s Motorcycles.