The panel, chaired by Constable Mike Jackson, highlighted the fact that only 6% of Jersey’s plastic bottles are currently recycled, and drew attention to the continuing discrepancies between parochial recycling policies.
The panel received ‘a number of submissions’ about the fact that only half the Island’s parishes offer kerbside recycling.
Mr Jackson said that, while the States’ Eco Active programme was undertaking ‘important awareness-raising initiatives’, these were not being supported by a sufficiently robust framework of policy and regulations.
‘The panel was pleased to hear about the important awareness raising initiatives that are currently carried out through the Eco Active programme,’ he said. ‘However, as the evidence gathered during our review shows, public awareness initiatives need to be complemented with more robust economic and regulatory policy measures, in order to achieve notable reductions in the use of plastic. As a panel, we urge the Minister for the Environment to align with the European Union and ban all avoidable single-use plastics.’
Responding to the panel’s findings Environment Minister John Young said that he doubted single-use plastics could be banned but that the States’ forthcoming Government Plan would detail specific actions.
‘I recognise that plastics pollution is a threat to our planet,’ he said. ‘We need to take action that is led internationally, and implemented locally, to end our use of non-degradable single-use plastics. We are working co-operatively with other British-Irish Council jurisdictions and will continue to do so as Jersey, as a consumer of plastics, is on the end of external supply chains. I doubt that we have sufficient legal powers to ban single-use plastics at the moment so I will be consulting my advisers. I will also be consulting other ministers on the effects of doing so, especially on the food supply, so we can consider how to progressively remove such items.
‘Government has acknowledged the importance of reducing all waste, and especially single-use plastics, through the Common Strategic Policy. The forthcoming Government Plan will outline the specific actions we intend to take and the Scrutiny report will be helpful in informing these.’
Plastic Free Jersey founder and winner of last year’s Pride of Jersey Environmentalist of the Year award, Sheena Brockie, has welcomed the report, praising the panel’s recommendation to align with EU regulations and their call for all parishes to offer kerbside recycling.
