GUERNSEY recycles almost twice as much household waste as Jersey, it has emerged.
And Island recycling rates have dropped in recent years.
Newly released figures have shown that 33% of household waste in Jersey is recycled compared to 59% in Guernsey.
Responding to a written question from Deputy Catherine Curtis, Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan acknowledged that more needed to be done to improve Jersey’s recycling performance.
He has also called for greater investment and new initiatives to boost rates.
Recycling rates have hovered at just over 30% in recent years, standing at 33% in 2024, down slightly from 35% in the previous two years.
Meanwhile, Guernsey recycled 59% of its household waste in 2022 and 2023.
The Isle of Man recorded lower rates: 23.8% in 2022 and 17% in 2023.
Municipal recycling rates measure how much of the waste produced by households is successfully recycled rather than sent to landfills or incineration.
Mr Jehan, who recently visited Guernsey to see the “good work that they have done in this area”, said a key step for Jersey would be the introduction of a structured framework for collection services and greater investment in processing facilities.
“To ensure the robustness of any such framework, additional legal and/or regulatory requirements would also likely be needed,” Mr Jehan said. One of the main challenges, he added, is that not all of Jersey’s 12 parishes currently offered kerbside recycling collection facilities.
The minister suggested that if all parishes introduced this service, the Island’s recycling rate could improve.
He also stressed the need for better promotion of existing recycling services to ensure that they are used effectively.
“I very much wish to increase the rate of recycling in Jersey,” he added.
