Currently, the EFW plant is classed as a ‘disposal facility’ – which under European conventions are not allowed to dispose of waste from other jurisdictions.
However, a proposition from Environment Minister Steve Luce seeks to change the official function to a ‘recovery facility’, because the site produces energy from waste rather than just burning it.
The minor move could pave the way for discussions to be reopened about the Island shipping in waste from Guernsey and the other Channel Islands to be dealt with here.
Guernsey has had a long-running refuse problem and talks about shipping their waste to Jersey have been ongoing for a number of years. A deal with Jersey could raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for the States.
Deputy Luce said: ‘What I am asking at this stage is to change the official status of the energy-from-waste plant. It is right that we do that and I’m not sure why it hasn’t happened yet because it is not a disposal facility. We get something out of it.
‘This would be the first stage in the process which could see us import waste from other places. It is unlikely we would receive waste from further afield than the Channel Islands but it is an important step.’
The States made a bid in 2016 to burn Guernsey’s rubbish at the energy-from-waste plant. However, the Sarnians’ preferred option is to send it to a plant in Sweden.
