The JEP has invited the 21 Senatorial candidates to answer a series of questions covering a wide range of key topics in the election

Question: Should we be legally required to recycle more of our household waste? If so, what should the target percentage be?

Adrian Walsh
I think we should all be encouraged to recycle and re-use as much as we can, but I don’t think we need more laws and a ‘big brother’ approach to something that the majority would willingly do to help the environment. The States need to be seen to be at the forefront of recycling and an incinerator which burns recyclable goods is not a step forward, in my mind.

Deputy Alan Breckon
Legal sanction is not appropriate – the community have shown a willingness for recycling and this should be built upon with a 40% target by 2012. Focal points for collection and wider involvement of the parishes is happening and will make this target achievable.

Deputy Alan Maclean
I don’t think we should be legally required to recycle, but I do believe that an incentive programme to encourage greater recycling would be beneficial and would ultimately be cost-effective. I would set a minimum target of 50%, rising to 70% within five years. The parishes are central to the success of any scheme to drive greater recycling of household waste.

Chris Perkins
The requirement should always be voluntary. For an environmental policy to work well, people must understand and buy in to the idea. However, our current 30% level of recycling and target of 32% are very poor. Some major European countries are able to recycle 60% to 70% of their waste and Jersey should be aiming for that level. The new incinerator is planned to be able to burn 66% more waste than we currently produce. With better recycling, the overcapacity will make it redundant even before it is completed.

Cliff Le Clercq
 No . . . and as much as possible. Let us lead more by example than control. For years we have been insanely burning mountains of recyclable materials at Bellozanne. I believe we should strive for reuse wherever possible, moving steadily toward raising our recycling potential to the maximum.

Deputy Geoff Southern
No. This is a matter for encouragement of public involvement, not enforcement. How can you police recycling? Trials have shown remarkable improvements in recycling rates where the facility and services are provided either kerbside or centrally. Many people, especially the young, want to recycle, given the opportunity. Closer co-operation between the States and the parishes is essential. We could become a leader in this field and, given the problems we continue to have with waste, targets should be high – around the 60% mark. Had our ministers invested in this area earlier, we would not need the massively expensive incinerator.

Ian Le Marquand
No. There would be serious problems with attempting to create legal requirements, presumably with criminal penalties. The current level of recycling is approaching 30% and the States target is for 36% by 2018. In the UK the current targets are 40% by 2010 and 50% by 2020. However, it is difficult for Jersey to achieve such high targets because of the lack of specialist recycling units here for different materials. I favour the States target of 36% being brought forward to be achieved by 2012, with the situation then being reviewed.

Jeremy Maçon
Recycling should be voluntary but with more facilities within walking distance of built-up areas. We should be investigating ways of setting up facilities to make use of the separated materials locally, as shipping it out of the Island and then trucking it all over the UK causes as much damage to the environment as not separating it in the first place. We need to examine the options available – providing low-interest loans or even subsidies for businesses which will make use of recycled materials. We should have a reclamation yard for items removed from buildings to be reused.

Daniel Wimberley
Our present waste management policies are shameful and amount to burning our money. First, we should carry out an audit of all goods coming into the Island to see where they end up. Then we are in a position to tackle the first R – reduction – head-on. Second, we must evaluate ‘bring-systems’ against household collections in terms of their reuse and recycling potential. The aim is zero-waste. Why not? Other places have this explicit target. Fiscal incentives, by parish or by household, based on money being saved against a benchmark could be part of the equation.

Nick Le Cornu
Often, so-called recycling requirements involve imposing rituals on households without any honest recycling policy. Recycling is not about regulating households, but organising the system of supply and consumption and the disposal of goods in circulation. That means packaging requirements precede household recycling, and a proper recycling infrastructure is needed. There are innumerable examples of recycling schemes where households are compelled to rigorously separate their rubbish only to find that the refuse is recombined for ‘efficiency’ at refuse dumps. Such hypocrisy defeats the purposes of recycling – which are avoiding waste, conserving valuable resources and teaching the society to consume in a responsible manner.

Mark Forskitt
 Yes. We should have recycling rates of 50% by 2010 and 65% by 2020. Our aspiration should be zero waste, but that rather depends on the inputs to our consumption. Already there are places recycling in excess of 70%.

Mike Higgins
I am against a legal requirement for householders to recycle more of their own waste. By making it a legal requirement you have to enforce it or the exercise becomes pointless. Enforcement, as demonstrated in the UK, has become nonsensical. The bureaucrats responsible become overbearing and resort to computer chips in wheelie-bins, close-circuit TV and covert surveillance to catch offenders, resulting in stupid prosecutions. I give people more credit for reacting to climate change and environmental issues. Educate the public and they will respond, as has recently been demonstrated by the public’s response to the use of plastic bags.

Mick Pashley
At this time I do not feel that there is a requirement to enforce recycling. People are aware of our ecological position and although people should be encouraged to do more, they should not be forced to change their lifestyle. We must remember to be an Island of free choice and understand that people will do what is best for the environment of their own free will.

Senator Mike Vibert
Roadside collection of recycled household waste should be introduced Islandwide as soon as possible. Refuse collectors should be entitled not to pick up waste that has not been correctly sorted. We should run public education campaigns on sorting waste and aim to recycle as much as possible rather than simply establishing an arbitrary target percentage.

Montfort Tadier
Recycling must be central to the Island’s waste policy, but it must also be seen in the context of the other 2 ‘Rs’ – reducing our waste (cutting down on packaging etc) and reusing (as we now do with plastic bags). Limits will vary, depending on various factors, but I think that the current limits are set too low. I think the new incinerator actually discourages recycling, as the machine will need large amounts of rubbish to run efficiently. It should be scrapped and replaced with one of the many greener, cleaner and more cost-effective options that are available.

Nick Palmer
Yes. However, persuasion is better than compelling people. We in Jersey really seem to like recycling so far. Household rates should be 50%-plus by 2013 and 65%-plus by 2020. Friends of the Earth say that we can recycle up to 80% of our domestic refuse now. While this is harder because we are living in an Island, Jersey should become more ingenious. Ultimately, what is needed is a zero-waste aspiration target.

Senator Paul Routier
I would not support legislation because I don’t believe it would be practically possible to enforce. I would support greater emphasis on education and finding ways of making it easier for everyone to recycle. Kerbside collections of separated waste streams and the provision of more recycling centres across the Island would be a step to increasing our recycling rate.

Deputy Peter Troy
We should have much higher recycling targets. 36% is woefully inadequate. We should be looking at in excess of 50% targets. Many European countries are aiming at 60%-plus. The use of incinerators actually encourages low recycling rates, as incinerators need fuel constantly and there becomes a need to keep burning instead of recycling. I have campaigned for removal of harmful materials from our waste stream and for a smaller incinerator coupled with more eco-friendly recycling methods. This would save the States millions of pounds.

Senator Philip Ozouf
I want to see the Island recycle as much as possible. Parishioners have shown that they want to recycle and I believe the household target should be set at a minimum of 50%. The key to increasing recycling rates is at the parish level and all parishes should be encouraged to introduce kerbside collection. I would not want to introduce punitive laws and believe our parishes should set their own rules – people will support that.

Deputy Sarah Ferguson
And would we then be fined if by chance we put the rubbish in the wrong bin? There is also the ancient adage ‘make do and mend’, which was certainly recycling and practised by prudent housewives for the last 1,000 years!

Trevor Pitman
This is an issue that has to hinge on education. Every one of us needs to understand the benefits and our responsibilities. Also, as seen in some other jurisdictions, how do you police it? Many young people are already committed to what is a complete culture change for some of us older people. Recycling rates do improve where facilities are provided close at hand. Greater co-operation between the States and parishes is needed. I would suggest that a minimum rate of 60% is a realistic target at present. The proposed incinerator sends out all the wrong messages, I’m afraid.