Has Guernsey reached its recycling limit?

Guernsey Waste has said it is on target to hit 70% recycling levels by 2030.

Former Deputy Scott Ogier was involved in bringing in the current kerbside pick-up system in 2014, before which the yearly rate of recycling was less than 50%.

He said commerical, rather than household recycling, should be an area targeted for improvement.

"Commercial recycling figures are lower than domestic recycling, and there's no reason it shouldn't be increased," he said.

Currently, 68% of the Bailiwick's waste is recycled, far higher than in the UK (45%) and Jersey (35%).

The island is always looking to increase its recycling rate, according to Guernsey Waste.

Guernsey's recycling figure has been the same since 2022, when it fell from 70% in the three previous years.

Ben Henry, business support executive for Guernsey Waste, said: "It's marginal gains, we're just trying to make those small improvements."

He said looking into new recycling markets, including for commerical waste and bulkier household items, was on Guernsey Waste's agenda.

Henry said: "Looking for those recycling routes is a big part of what we do, looking at the market and speaking to recyclers.

"We also want to remind people, 'Do you really need to be getting rid of your sofa or TV? Do you need a new one? Or is the one that you've got all right at the moment?'"

Faye Grime, who is the director at Mayside Recycling where the island's recycled waste is sorted, believes cleaning waste is the answer.

She said: "The problem now is people tend to get a little bit complacent with their recycling, and it's really important that people still care enough to keep their recyclers as clean as possible.

"It's not rubbish that's being thrown away, it's lovely good material that's being reused and recycled into clean plastic, clean paper, clean cardboard, clean metal.

"The cleaner we can keep our recycling, the better recycling rates we can achieve for Guernsey."

Henry added: "We are always out and about, we're in schools, we're going out into businesses, we're meeting people, we're chatting to people about what can be recycled, where we can do better."

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