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Whilst progress has been made in recent years to improve recycling generally it is disappointing that many more items continue to be recycled in Guernsey than here in Jersey - WHY?
- Ban the use of ALL single use plastic bags - at present virtually all shops and supermarkets continue to ask at checkout "do you want a bag" despite repeated assurances this would cease - it would therefore appear that only legislation will resolve this situation.
When such legislation is introduced it is important that the timescale is short i.e 6 months and also that retailers are not nannied' i.e THEY should be required to find alternatives rather than government trying to make a hugely long list of possible alternatives' - inevitably it would not be fully comprehensive and would also contain items over which the retailers would insist on debating'.
If an African country (Rwanda) could manage to ban ALL non-biodegradable bags six years ago, and many other countries across the world now have in place, or are currently introducing, legislation on single use plastic then why can it be so difficult in a small island like Jersey?
- Introduce a levy on disposable coffee cups.
- Implement an immediate ban on plastic cups, plastic water bottles etc from all States and Parish buildings.
- Ban local growers from wrapping fruit and veg destined for local shops/supermarkets.
- Ban all non-recyclable black plastic trays.
- Follow other jurisdictions and instal water fountains before putting a deposit return scheme into effect on all plastic bottles - This would help reduce the vast number of plastic bottles sent for recycling.
The States should be seen to be taking the initiative rather than merely tagging along behind the UK (England in particular) where introducing any such legislation takes decades due to lobbying by industry!
Colin Campbell