States Urge Common Sense On Recycling Nights

Guernsey Waste asks people to think about how they put out their recycling for collection.

An extended period of wet and windy weather has prompted the message to use common sense when it comes to recycling.

Roads are often littered with empty food caddies and the contents of recycling bags after a windy night.

Waste minimisation & sustainability officer Douglas Button says there are ways of ensuring that recycling collections end up where they should, in the back of the collection lorry:

“Anything that is set out should be adequately weighted down, but please take care not to put bricks, stones or other heavy items inside any containers, as these will damage equipment if they are picked up along with your recycling."

He says on windy nights people with only a little in their blue or clear bags should consider leaving them until the next fortnightly collection so that they don't blow away.

Mr Button wants people to use the proper glass recycling bags provided by the States, and not their own, which generally aren't fit for use.

"The glass bags provided for kerbside glass are specifically designed for this purpose. They are safer for the collection crews when handling glass, as they are much stronger than reusable carrier bags.

The designated bags have a weighted bottom, which also means they are far less likely to be blown around the roads once empty.”

Replacement bags are available at the Longue Hougue recycling centre and from parish offices.