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Charges for commercial food waste are changing this week to encourage businesses to separate their rubbish.
As of 1 August, commercial food waste will be treated in a similar way to recyclable items and will be classed as a contaminant if it is mixed with general waste.
That means mixed loads that include food and could have been separated beforehand will have a higher cost of £345 per tonne. The cost of disposing of food waste correctly is much cheaper with a charge of £175 per tonne, while the general waste cost is usually £230.
The new Waste Transfer System has been processing household and commercial waste for the last six months.
Pictured: Guernsey Waste.
As a result of the new collection arrangements, Guernsey Waste is expecting the household recycling rate to be around 64% this year - one of the highest rates in Europe. The island hopes to achieve a 70% household recycling rate by 2030.
However, it seems not all commercial businesses have been separating their waste before taking it to the WTS.
"We're really happy with how Guernsey's households have helped to achieve the predicted recycling rates since the new collections commenced," said Guernsey Waste Operations Manager Sarah Robison. "But we've noticed that a lot of the commercial waste that comes into the Waste Transfer Station that could have been recycled is often mixed in together."
It is estimated that more than half of household food waste is separated at source, but for the commercial sector that figure is just 15%.
Pictured: Guernsey food waste bags.
Mixed loads containing food waste have a higher moisture content which makes it harder to process. Although States Works has attempted to reduce the moisture content by mixing it with drier waste, it has not always worked, meaning the loads had to be disposed of in landfill.
It is hoped the new charges will help to encourage commercial businesses to make the most out of the new system.
Guernsey Waste is contacting its commercial customers about the changes.
Pictured top: Rubbish being processed through the Waste Transfer Station.
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