LARGE mounds full of hazardous waste that the government has been dumping at La Collette without planning permission could get even bigger, after the States Assembly overwhelmingly backed a proposition from the Infrastructure Minister.
Members voted 39 to three in support of a proposal by Deputy Tom Binet to extend the life of the ‘waste management site’ on reclaimed land south of the incinerator by up to a decade.
In doing so, Members have given political support to the current mounds that have been built to the east of the reclamation site rising by 4.5 metres.
They have also given their support to the construction of new piles of inert building rubble and soil to the south and west to the same height of the eastern maximum height, which is 21.5m above the rocky breakwater surrounding the site.
However, the mounds still require planning permission. A retrospective application for approval of the mounds up to their existing height has just been submitted, and another to increase their heights further will have to follow.
The Planning Committee unanimously rejected the Infrastructure and Environment Department’s application to continue to create large headlands of hazardous waste south of the incinerator at a meeting earlier this year. At that meeting, St Clement Constable Marcus Troy said it was not the committee’s job to ‘rubber-stamp unauthorised dumping over the last 20 years’, and raised concerns that they were building ‘Table Mountain in our backyard’.
In backing Deputy Binet’s proposal in the Assembly yesterday, Members have approved a ‘short-to-medium’ plan to deal with the Island’s hazardous and inert waste, which is based on their continuing processing and storage at La Collette. They have also supported the extension of a public footpath around the whole perimeter of the reclamation site from the incinerator to the tanker berth, and the ‘restoration’ of the headlands through landscaping and the planting of trees.
Some members of the Planning Committee – who may be asked to determine the two planning applications – voiced their support for the proposal, including chair Constable Philip Le Sueur and vice-chair Deputy Steve Luce.
Along with a number of States Members, Deputy Luce stressed that – facing a lack of current alternatives – Members had no alternative but to back this plan.
However, he called on Deputy Binet to improve the design of the mounds and explore different sites for the dumping of inert waste in the longer term, including at La Gigoulande Quarry in St Peter’s Valley, which already has planning permission for that use, and the sand quarry in St Ouen’s Bay.
The headlands of hazardous material contain lined pits of contaminated soil and asbestos topped with inert soil.
Now with Assembly support for his short-to-medium-term plan, Deputy Binet has pledged to come up with a longer-term plan, working with the Environment Minister. This will include identifying new sites when La Collette inevitably reaches capacity.
He added that when La Collette filled up would be determined by every Islander’s ability to reduce waste in their work and homes, as well as reusing items instead of throwing them away.
