Guernsey parish rubbish collection fees 'unfair'

Calls have been renewed for Guernsey's parishes to be able to choose how they charge for rubbish collections.

John Marshall, a Castel resident, said it was unfair parish rates were based on the size of your property and not the number of bin sacks you put out.

He said a bag and tag scheme would be a better and fairer system.

The Public Services Department said household collection was being considered as part of the island's new waste strategy.

The collection of household waste is organised on a parish by parish basis with most charges based on the size of properties calculated though TRP (Tax on Rateable Property).

A Public Services Department spokesperson said: "First and foremost the emphasis will be on waste reduction.

"Many islanders consider the current charging system unfair, and that is borne out by some of the feedback that we have received in the public consultation.

"Part of the refuse rates reflects the cost of collection, which is a service that someone has to provide no matter how much waste households produce.

"The income from refuse charges also currently helps to fund the cost of recycling.

"Whatever charging mechanism is used in future, we are still going to have to fund that part of the island's waste management."