Deputies in bid to stop proposed increase in household waste charges

Thursday 03 December 2020

Pay-as-you-throw and standing waste charges will increase on 1 January - unless a bid to annul the proposed changes is backed by Deputies.

Orange waste stickers are set to increase by 10p, green ones by 20p, and Guernsey Waste’s annual bill to households by £5 in order to stem losses that has seen the new waste strategy lose millions since its inception.

The financial shortfall has come about, paradoxically, because islanders have exceeded recycling targets and increased local uptake to world-leading levels. 

Pictured: Deputies Gavin St Pier and Lyndon Trott are behind the motion to annul. 

This has led to people spending less than was initially forecast, with Guernsey Waste calling for what it deems to be measured increases in order to reduce the yawning revenue gap which saw it lose £1.4m last year and a similar amount in 2020.

However, Deputies Gavin St Pier and Lyndon Trott are asking the States to annul the proposed increases when they come to the States for approval on 16 December. 

The motion has now been officially registered and is expected to be one of the most highly-contested issues at the upcoming meeting, with many viewing the uplift in charges as taxation by the back door. The increases, if approved, are forecast to raise an additional £255,000 from households next year.

Pictured: The new household recycling strategy has proven so successful in driving down black bag rubbish that Guernsey Waste's revenue has been well below budget. 

The motion to annul only applies to the household charges. Increases to commercial charges - from £240 per tonne to £246 - remain on course and are expected to get States sign-off. Those changes are estimated to generate Guernsey Waste an extra £54,000 annually. 

If approved, the new household and commercial waste prices will come into effect on 1 January 2021.