Imported waste will fill up our land reclamation sites

Thursday 25th February 2010, 2:58PM GMT.

From Nick Palmer.
BEFORE too many people locally get excited about taking Guernsey’s rubbish for at least the next ten years, perhaps they should consider a consequence.

When waste is burned in a disposal plant – as our new plant really should be classified (because it will never be efficient enough, according to the EU, to be classed as an energy from waste plant) – approximately a third of the waste remains as ash.

If we imported, say, 45,000 tonnes per year of Guernsey’s waste we would be left with 15,000 tonnes of ash residue per year, which would have to go somewhere.

Before this notion was floated, it was already known that we were going to have to do further land reclamation because the existing reclamation site is filling up. Dumping Guernsey’s ash on our shores will have the effect of filling up our existing reclamation site faster and bringing forward the day when Jersey taxpayers have to cough up for yet more land reclamation.

1
Michael R

February 25, 2010 at 8:55 pm

As a Guern, attractive though the idea may be of dumping our rubbish on Jersey’s shores, I am sure that even the most ardent anti-crapaud would not wish to leave the resultant toxic ash on our sister island and Jersey would rightly expect that to be taken back.

I am afraid that this entire topic has come about because of the various States of Guernsey’s departments intransigence and refusal to ask the right questions, as I fear, Jersey has also done.

Instead of asking “How can we reduce our waste?” the respective governments have wrung their hands and continually asked “How can we get rid of our waste?” and have come up with awful technological solutions to an issue that does not really require high-tech answers.

Despite the scare-mongering of the Guernsey States, there is still several years capacity in the current landfill site and there is no need to resort to drastic solutions such as monster incinerators. Should Jersey wish to accept a certain amount of waste at a proper commercial rate, that is up to them but I am sure that no thinking Guernseyman would wish to lumber Jersey with the toxic residue. Surely that would have to be returned to Guernsey or sent to France (both at Guernsey’s expense).

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2
Magnolia Man

February 26, 2010 at 6:46 pm

The headline provided by the sub-editor for Mr Nick Palmer’s letter is “Imported waste will fill up our land reclamation sites”.

And where are Jersey’s “reclamation sites”? In the sea, where the ash that is dumped there is polluting the flora and fauna in the RAMSAR site.

But that does not matter one whit to our Council of Ministers. After all, limpets and lobsters, oysters and ormers do not have votes, do they?

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