From Keith Shaw.
AT some stage it will be necessary to deal with the Island’s mounting asbestos waste dump at La Collette. At first glance there appears to be over 100 old rusting, rotting and possibly leaking shipping containers, which must have been piling up for many years.

This is only the asbestos waste that we know about, stored in a compound and will be well documented. Sadly, if Islanders’ memories are correct, asbestos waste was not always stored in such a visible way in the past.

It was evidently dumped on the area known as the West of Albert reclamation site together with other potentially hazardous waste products, including municipal waste incinerator bottom and fly ash.

I believe that then the reclamation site was cleared, and the hazardous material moved and stored in pits with butyl liners at La Collette.

It was claimed that the dumping of asbestos material directly on to the land adjacent to the sea at La Collette continued after that date – so unfortunately not all of the hazardous material may be stored in containers.

As I believe that Jersey has received considerable criticism for its waste management processes over the past 20-plus years, and its potential to do harm will affect our environment for the long-term future, the general public have a right to ask:

• Where will be the final location of these asbestos containers and what will it eventually cost?

• Will it be dumped on the beach again with the risk of seawater entering the rusty old steel boxes?

• Can it be transhipped to a safer location off the Island for legally compliant end processing?

• Are we waiting to get Guernsey’s asbestos waste to add to it?
This leads me to ask:

• If TTS and the States in their wisdom decide to accept Guernsey’s municipal waste products and burn it, where will all the hazardous and toxic ash by-products be stored?

• Will it be wise to bury it in plastic bags at La Collette and risk repeating the problems encountered in 2009 with the inevitable long-term unknown results?