Alderney hopes for success with rubbish plans

Thursday 20 September 2018

If Jersey agrees to accept Alderney's rubbish for incineration it will help the island keep its costs under control while being more resourceful in dealing with its own waste.

Talks between the two islands are at an advanced stage and if the States of Jersey agree, Alderney will start shipping its black bag waste to the island once a week as soon as it is able to.

Once in Jersey it would be incinerated at the island's La Collette waste plant, helping to provide power for around 100 homes.

The £90,000 deal would see Alderney ship around 600 tonnes of waste to Jersey each year at a cost of £150 per tonne to cover processing costs. Jersey's Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis is urging his fellow States Members to support the plan saying the islands should work together.

“This is an opportunity to support our neighbours and for the islands to work together. It is also an opportunity to generate both income and electricity; and to get greater value from the investment that we’ve made in our Energy From Waste (EfW) plant by using some of its spare capacity, all by simply accepting one extra trailer of black bin bags per week,” the Minister said.

He is planning a vote on the matter in the States of Jersey on 6 November.

Pictured: Jersey's States Chamber.

Jersey States officials said that no new staff, equipment or changes in processes would be needed to manage the change, if accepted while a spokesman for the States of Alderney said it would benefit them in many different ways.

He said the plans are at a fairly advanced stage, but nothing more can be done until a decision is made.

"We, like any island, have to look at all the options and ensure we have good reliance. We are currently in talks with Jersey discussing a working partnership on waste and other areas."

While there isn't yet a start date and no contract has been agreed, Alderney seems keen to get started but that will "depend on having all the correct procedures and laws in place."

Aside from politics, it's believed shipping Alderney's waste to Jersey - rather than signing up to Guernsey's new waste strategy which includes a heavy emphasis on recycling, with all non recyclable waste being shipped to England before its incineration on Sweden -  would be good for the island.

"It can only be good," said the spokesman, "giving us better options, help build partnerships. It will mean we are being more resourceful with our waste using it for energy and it gives us a far better future process."

He also said there will be no expected changes for residents, with plans to ship the waste to Jersey weekly for an agreed cost which won't see additional charges passed on to homeowners.

"I believe it will help us keep our costs under control, and we will be able to monitor any change.

"Due to the way we currently ship out waste there will be no change to the public, and for us the only change will be paper work and allowing it to stay on the ship for Jersey on the weekly inter-island cargo run."