Black bags won't just be left, but owners will be tracked down

Tuesday 05 February 2019

The States will collect bags without the correct stickers on eventually, however those who put them out can expect to be contacted soon after.

This comes following the first ever collection of black sacks which needed the stickers on them that took place across St Peter Port on Sunday night.

Black sacks with a red sticker on explaining why they hadn't been collected were still lining the streets yesterday morning, and Town residents took to social media to complain. But STSB, the States board responsible for the waste strategy, have issued a statement to reassure the public that they are still confident the new system will work. It also added it was expecting there to be a fair number of bags without the stickers on for the first night. 

"There were a few bags out last night without stickers where we could see where they had come from and those people will be getting a letter from us shortly." - Richard Evans.

Yay. It works... https://t.co/4sd7XQhalF

— Recycle for Guernsey (@recycleforgsy) February 5, 2019

Things were looking better this morning, although some bags were still left out across St Peter Port. 

A "polite notice" was left on people's uncollected bags to explain why, and what steps they should take. 

"Obviously with the new payment requirements coming into effect for the very first time, the likelihood of people getting it wrong was higher than we would expect once the system has had time to bed in.  However most people seemed to have grasped it very quickly," Richard Evans, STSB Deputy Managing Director, said. 

Some people may still have some bags on their doorstep if they didn't manage to apply the right payment sticker last night, but areas should be largely free from obstruction. https://t.co/WVGjUigAgC

— Recycle for Guernsey (@recycleforgsy) February 4, 2019

"Most black bags were set out correctly, with the right payment sticker. If anyone has left a black bag out without the appropriate payment sticker, the bin men should have put a red sticker on it to identify that it has actually been left.  That explains the likely reason it was not collected and what steps the owner needs to take next.  Islanders may well have seen quite a few of these still out this morning on the way to work, but we had anticipated some households wouldn’t get it right first time.

"These bags won’t be left out there indefinitely – we have staff following up these instances and if it is not obvious whose bag it is, in which case the owner will be unlikely to take action, they will get taken away quite soon and we will start seeing if we can identify the source. There were a few bags out last night without stickers where we could see where they had come from and those people will be getting a letter from us shortly."

Householders have been sent out a number of informative leaflets to explain the nuances of the new waste system, and how they can dispose of their rubbish bags. 

When kerbside recycling was introduced in 2014, similar teething issues were had, as was the case with food and glass collection in September. In both of those instances households "got the hang of it" very quickly, according to STSB, so they are expecting similar with the black bag stickers.

They are going to remain firm with not taking any bags away at the proper times if they don't have a sticker attached. That includes putting a specific sticker on your black bag for either 90l or 50l.

Anyone who hasn't had their rubbish taken away can deliver it to Longue Hougue where you'll have to pay the 'pay as you throw' charge directly.

Homes in most other parishes will also have black bags collected this week, while residents in St Sampsons and other parts of St Peter Port won't experience using their stickers for the first time until next week. To read more about how the black bag stickers work, click here. 

Pictured top: Some of the rubbish bags left out on Monday morning around central St Peter Port.