Jersey to bid for Guernsey’s non-recyclable waste contract

Guernsey Waste has invited companies and governments to bid for the contract to take its black bag waste

Jersey is preparing to bid for taking Guernsey's non-recyclable rubbish.

Jersey's Infrastructure Department has completed the initial questionnaire, as part of the tender process.

Guernsey currently sends black bag waste to Sweden, via the UK, to be incinerated and turned into energy.

Guernsey Waste has invited companies and governments to bid for the waste contract which will be awarded in September.

Analysis: John Fernandez, BBC Guernsey Political Reporter

There's an argument that with Jersey only 24 miles away from Guernsey, it's the most sensible place for Guernsey to send its unrecyclable waste.

Surely shipping it that distance is far more environmentally conscious than more than 1,000 miles to Sweden?

The reality is not as simple. The plants in Jonkoping are able to take advantage of larger economies of scale than Jersey's relatively small plant, and are therefore arguably more efficient with the energy produced.

The big question is, unlike last time around, can the States of Jersey make an offer that trumps companies like Geminor UK?

One thing is clear, with recycling rates hovering around 70% Guernsey's waste strategy, despite its funding problems, remains the envy of jurisdictions around the world.

Non-recyclable waste in Guernsey is currently bailed at a plant at Longue Hougue and turned into a product called refuse derived fuel (RDF), before being exported by a company called Geminor UK.

For the last five years Guernsey's RDF has been sent to an energy from waste plant called the Jönköping Energi Cogeneration Facility in Torsvik, Sweden.

In 2021 Guernsey Waste extended the contract with Geminor UK for another two years.

Jersey's States made an unsuccessful bid for the original contract to deal with Guernsey's waste in 2018.

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