The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
1240/5(6157)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES BY SENATOR S.C. FERGUSON
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 29th MARCH 2011
Question
Will the Minister give details of the income and expenditure associated with the various categories of recycled waste, i.e, newspaper, glass, cardboard, cans, plastic etc.?
Answer
Recycling expenditure, income and quantities 2010
2010 | expenditure | income | tonnes | £/tonne | Notes |
Cardboard | £184,243 | £ - | 3,652 | £50.45 | Baled and exported through local contractor |
Catering Oils | £11,700 | £ - | 234 | £50.00 | Collected and exported or used locally through local contractor |
Paper | £163,492 | £ - | 2,647 | £61.77 | Baled and exported through local contractor |
Glass | £ - | £ - | 7,190 | £ - | Handled through aggregates contractor at no cost to the States |
Metal Packaging | £1,319 | £ - | 39 | £33.82 | Collected and exported through local contractor |
Fridges | £17,510 | £ - | 2,201 (units) | £7.96 (per unit) | Degassed by local specialist - 2011 hazardous fridges exported by TTS |
TVs/monitors | £117,360 | £ - | 381 | £308.03 | TTS package and export to a UK specialist recycler |
Other Electricals | £67,176 | £19,585 | 80 | £839.70 | Local dismantling and export of components, some of which have a value |
There are a wide range of options and solutions available for dealing with waste but for the majority of materials, providing the services to deal with them in an environmentally sound way incurs a cost whether it be recycling, composting or energy recovery.
Collection, sorting, storing, processing and in some cases export of materials all incur administrative, manpower, equipment, transport and energy costs. Some materials have a value as recycling markets grow but for most the potential income is significantly less than the expenditure required to prepare and deliver them to the point of sale. This is particularly the case for a small Island community where local options are limited as recycling often relies on economies of scale to be viable.
It was made clear in the Financial Appraisal presented in the Solid Waste Strategy, agreed by the States in 2005, that to reach the original recycling and composting target of 32% would require extra revenue funding. TTS also reports on the cost per tonne of the key recycling streams in the Annual Performance Report which is publicly available.
It has been the policy of TTS over the last decade to encourage private enterprise to carry our recycling services and has, for most of the key materials, engaged contractors in this work. Typically the contractual arrangement involves the partner receiving any income from sales of materials and this being used to offset the overall cost charged to the States. Recycling partners are selected through a competitive tendering process to help ensure best value is being obtained, a process which is repeated periodically when a fixed-term comes to an end.
More recently other approaches are being trialled such as a more in-house solution where income generated from recycling projects is being kept within the department as is the case for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. As the figures show the overall costs still significantly outweighs the potential to generate a return.
Another important issue is that a number of waste streams are segregated for recycling as they simply should not be going into an Energy from Waste Plant. Glass and metals add no value to the energy recovery process and TVs, fridges and other electrical often contain hazardous elements so an off-Island specialist recycler is the only real option also incurring costly fees to satisfy the environmental regulator in the country of destination.
The waste management industry has and continues to evolve rapidly. We also face times of austerity so it is important that the solutions employed and associated costs are kept under review. In 2011 TTS will undertake a formal review of the overall Solid Waste Strategy. The Department is faced with a difficult balance to strike between public and political pressure to extend the range and amount of material recycled and a limited and shrinking resource with which to deliver the services.