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Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service is backing a new campaign advising islanders how to dispose of potentially dangerous items correctly to avoid causing serious injury or fire.
Guernsey Waste’s campaign slogan “Check before you chuck, don’t leave it to luck” is highlighting household items that can pose a serious risk if thrown away in general household waste or recycling bags.
Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service head of operations & training, Tim Falla, said carelessly discarded items can endanger lives, and cause major damage to property and machinery.
“In the past three years we have attended the waste transfer station at Longue Hougue on a number of occasions, to deal with fire incidents caused by items that were disposed of as general waste.
“Fortunately, none of these incidents have caused serious injury or damage, but there is always that risk. We would therefore urge islanders to be aware of items that can be dangerous and follow the advice on how to dispose of them correctly.”
Guernsey Waste’s contracts and compliance manager Rachel Scally said while such items were not commonplace in waste and recycling, there have been numerous incidents.
“Over the past three years, we have had almost 30 separate fire incidents at the waste transfer station at Longue Hougue. Four were activated by flares.
“Fortunately, none of these resulted in serious injury or damage because our fire suppression systems managed to extinguish them. However, we have been lucky so far, because these items could have ignited or explode at any point from when they were collected through to being processed.
“There was a fire in Bulwer Avenue in 2018 which it is believed started from a battery, this demonstrated it only takes one item to ignite, and the impact could be severe.”
Guernsey Waste’s message of “Check before you chuck don’t leave it to luck” will appear around the harbours, on posters across the island, on beer mats, banners and across social media to push the message out to islanders.
A new web page (www.gov.gg/checkb4uchuck) and leaflet will identify the most common dangerous waste items and explain how to easily dispose of them properly.
Besides batteries, they include digital cameras, e-cigarettes, electronic items, flares, gas canisters, laptops, and mobile phones. These items should never be disposed of in household recycling or general waste bags.
Batteries, for example, can be recycled free of charge at Co-op Grand Marche Stores, Aladdin’s Cave, Waitrose, at all schools and the Household Waste & Recycling Centre at Longue Hougue.
Boatowners who may need to replace their flares ahead of the Spring should either return them for free to a marine trader (A B Marine, Boatworks+, Marine & General Chandlery or Sunsport Marine) or hand them into the Police Station so they can be safely disposed of.
For information about the Longue Hougue Household Waste & Recycling Centre, including opening times, go to www.gov.gg/hwrc or contact Guernsey Waste recycle@gov.gg or call 221234.
Information on how to dispose of waste from commercial businesses can be found at www.gov.gg/commercialwaste.
