Guernsey Water and Guernsey Waste call for safe chemical disposal

Chemicals can be disposed of, for free, at the Longue Hougue Recycling Centre

Residents of Guernsey are being reminded to dispose of chemicals at the island's recycling centre rather than pour them down the drain.

That's the message from Guernsey Water and Guernsey Waste as spring sees people returning to their gardens.

Where pesticide levels in streams are too high, water cannot be collected, which "increases the island's vulnerability to drought", they said.

Chemicals can be disposed of for free at the Longue Hougue Recycling Centre.

These include weedkillers, pesticides, solvents and thinners.

Water quality risk manager Daffyd Griffiths said: "These chemicals have a harmful impact on our environment and can persist for a long time.

"If you're having a spring clean and need to get rid of bottles of chemicals or pesticides, do not under any circumstance pour them away - these chemicals take years to wash through the environment, leaving all sorts of damage in their wake."