So we were looking at taking Guernseys rubbish

THERE have been no discussions with Jersey regarding the export of waste since the option was ruled out by the States in 2006.

Public Services Minister Deputy Bernard Flouquet said exporting waste was not a viable option for Guernsey.
‘This is not back on the agenda. Exporting waste was fully investigated before the decision was made to tender for a new waste treatment facility. It is just not viable because Jersey does not have the capacity to treat both islands’ waste, even in the short term,’ he said.

‘Even if there were, it would be no more than a short term fix, requiring millions to be spent simply to put off addressing the long-term future of Guernsey’s waste treatment for a few years.’
‘There is a commonly accepted principle that each community should be responsible for dealing with the waste it generates. Our proposed solution reflects that, and provides the best long-term solution to the island’s requirements.’

Jersey’s current Bellozanne incinerator dealt with 72,000 tonnes of waste in 2008. Its new £106 million incinerator, which is expected to be operational in 2011, is designed to treat up to 105,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Deputy Flouquet said that last week, following a proposal from a Guernsey businessman to reconsider exporting waste, an officer at Public Services contacted their Jersey counterpart. However this was only to clarify the capacity of the proposed new La Colette facility.

‘It was simply an approach to clarify the facts,’ said Deputy Flouquet.

‘The indication he was given was that Jersey would have spare capacity for 26,000 tonnes a year for around five years. Guernsey currently produces around 43,000 tonnes of residual waste a year, and even if we achieve our target of 50% recycling we are not going to see that fall to anything like 26,000.’

Jersey’s new incinerator has been designed to meet the island’s requirements for 25 years, and the 105,000 tonne capacity is based on the projected growth in the number of homes and the subsequent waste.

When the option was considered by the States, Jersey was planning to build 126,000 tonne incinerator. The only difference now was the island had opted for a smaller incinerator, with leaving even less spare capacity.

Deputy Flouquet said even assuming Jersey meets its own recycling target of 36% by 2018, any spare capacity is going to decrease rather than increase.

Other options for exporting waste were also considered by the States in 2007, but rejected. They included a joint facility with Jersey, or exporting to Europe. (from gov.gg)

Guess our States want to keep our rubbish, but who knows, Mr Rodney Brouard has other ideas....