Currently around six per cent of plastic bottles are recycled in Jersey – 103 tonnes out of the estimated 1,592 tonnes in the Island’s overall waste – with the remainder included in household waste burnt in the incinerator at La Collette.
Public awareness of the pollution issues caused by the highly durable substance, particularly in the world’s oceans, has grown over the past year, leading to the establishment of the Plastic-Free Jersey initiative to encourage more responsible use of plastic in the Island.
During a special Scrutiny hearing on the issue of plastic usage, Emma Richardson-Calladine, the Infrastructure Department’s recycling manager, said that the ‘foundation’ of an effective recycling programme in Jersey would be all 12 parishes introducing kerbside collection schemes.
‘We would like the foundation to be access for everyone to recycling from their home,’ she said.
‘We are working with a lot of businesses to provide workplace recycling schemes and we have on-the-go recycling [such as recycling plants and public bins] but we need all of the parishes to provide recycling schemes. Currently six parishes do.
‘Once we have household recycling, on-the-go recycling and workplace recycling available to everyone then recycling can become the norm, like it is in many other countries.
‘A lot of Islanders do not have access to recycling schemes at the moment. Without making it the norm it will be very difficult to take plastic recycling forward.’
She added that once the foundation of universal household recycling was in place then a number of other measures, such as bottle-deposit schemes, could be introduced in Jersey.
Ms Richardson-Calladine said that she was keen for the parishes to continue their role in recycling programmes and it would be a ‘backward step’ to abolish the existing schemes and replace them with a centralised programme.
‘In 2015 a report was delivered which researched the proposition of an Islandwide kerbside scheme in terms of centralising it, rather than having the parish schemes,’ she said.
‘We have the parish schemes already and they operate very well. It would be better to deliver kerbside recycling schemes similar to what the parishes already have in the remaining six parishes, rather than to unpick what has already been done.’
During the hearing of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel, Ms Richardson-Calladine also said that Islanders needed to be made aware of what types of plastic they could recycle.
‘There’s a lack of knowledge about what types of plastic can and can’t be recycled. Some people think that it is only clear plastic water bottles that can be recycled,’ she said.
‘But we will also do other bottles, such as shampoo and detergent bottles, whether they are clear or opaque.’
The hearing was attended by Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis, as well as panel members Constables Mike Jackson and John Le Maistre and Deputy Kirsten Morel.
