According to the article on page 3 of the JEP on Friday 3rd April, I think that 'Town businesses could pick up the bill for the new St Helier recycling scheme'. Now why would I want to do that? How could that possibly strike anyone as fair? Actually the rest of the article makes the point that we are only considering charging businesses for EXTRA collections. In other words, everyone who pays rates is entitled to go on receiving their weekly refuse collection, which is going to include a collection of recyclables like paper, tins, plastic bottles and glass, but if you run a business that generates a load of refuse on a daily basis you will have to pay for the extra collections.
The article also points out that the new recycling scheme is going to be put to a Parish Assembly for approval, once the staff involved in operating it are fully signed up to the scheme, and once the parishioners have been consulted about the scheme. So if businesses object to paying any for the extra refuse collections they can simply turn up to the meeting and vote against it. Mind you, they will have to have a pretty good argument against paying for extra services, as if they don't pay for them everyone else will!
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Presumably the larger waste creating businesses like supermarkets already pay to dispose of their own refuse? But why can't you target a surcharge on those businesses who sell goods with too much wrapping that becomes a problem all the way down the chain.
Is it possible to negotiate a payment based upon their turnover?
How are the negotiations or plans going for shipping recycling material to France?
We've identified a couple of options in France which we're hoping to develop. For example, I've visited a factory that makes egg boxes and the like which is happy to take bales of recycled paper. A St. Malo company will take our car tyres but we need to look at transport costs and getting them shredded. But anything has got to be better than putting tyres in the incinerator. Ditto plastic. There are local companies to consider too, of course.
How ironic that you ask how the suggestion that businesses would pay for the recycling scheme could possibly strike anybody as fair, and then go on to talk about how the current rate funded collection will continue... as the rate system is fair!
The rate system isn't fair at all, it's out dated and poorly managed.
It bears no relation in what is charged with what services it funds.
I'm not sure that's ironic but let's not get into a debate about irony here! Is the rates system fair? How much you pay is related to the property you own or occupy - seems fair to me. What's more, how much you pay is set not by some local council, but by a gathering of the public once a year. In the case of 2009 that's going to be on July 8th. How many other western societies allow the public to set the level of local taxation then?
"...How much you pay is related to the property you own or occupy - seems fair to me..."
How much you pay is related to the property you occupy, yes; but the how is that fair if the rateable value of two nearly identical properties can vary substantially? For example two 3bedroom semi-detached properties where one has twice the rateable value of the other. Do the people in the smaller property really use twice services of the parish that the slightly larger property does?
Of course not, and because the water rates use the same values the smaller house is hit for double the water rate too.
That doesn't seem fair to me.
It is fair because in the case you mention, the aggrieved rate payer could simply apply to the relevant authority for an adjustmet to be made. The law provides for this where more than 10% disparity exists between properties with similar features.
I am wondering how will the Bellozane Covenant apply when we have a newer version of the incinerator at La Collette? Do we as residents of St Helier truely not pay for waste collection in our rates at the moment? The covenant says that we could just take our rubbish to Bellozane ourselves even when the incinerator is decommisioned, so just how much will this move affect our rates?
As i understand it, the BZ covenant means that St Heler ratepayers will enjoy free refuse disposal in perpetuity. I've often wondered about a test case being taken to establish why, as taxpayers, we should contribute to the cost of waste disposal, given the terms of the covenant. The cost of collection is met from the rates, not the cost of disposal. The covenant means that the States can't introduce a gate fee to help finance the new incinerator.
Thank you, perhaps a test case would be a good idea.On average what would you say is the comparison between a St Helier resident, and a St Saviour's resident in respect to collection/ disposal charges?
Good idea, Lara. I will dig out the latest figures and let you know. It would be a relatively simple matter to work out the proportion of my tax bill that goes to fund waste disposal, in spite of the provisions of the covenant. It would also help focus attention on the centuries-old problem of St Helier ratepayers picking up the tab for the rest of the island. Now you have mentioned it, I think I will do a blog posting on this in the next few days.
Is it possible for recycling to become self funding in the longer term?
I would very much support the Parish starting up a recycling scheme. As it is I take my glass to the nearby depository but I understand that this is not a recycling facility merely an alternative collection so that the glass goes into landfill and not the incinerator to keep its temperature down.
Would it be possible to use the glass either ground down as builders sand (rather than taking this out of the St Ouens sand quarry) or round it off into pebbles to use as mulch/decorative covering around the town?
Just a few ideas I've heard of that don't seem to have been taken up as yet.
"Is it possible for recycling to become self funding in the longer term?..." - AnonymousAlmost certainly not, unless the cost of new raw materials increases very significantly.
"...Would it be possible to use the glass either ground down as builders sand..."I doubt it would make efficent, financially or energy-wise to do this, and there may be an issue of providing the resultant product in large enough quantities and or consistant quality to make it practical.
"...or round it off into pebbles to use as mulch/decorative covering around the town?..."I believe this is, or at least was trialled, already. Personally I don't think it's a particularly attractive product.
IMHO a big step forward in the battle against landfill would be to reduce the amount of waste produced. Something that is being addressed by manufacturers already, thankfully.
In addition I'd like to see those stores that hold an off-license forced as part of their license to provide a recycling point for glass. Make supermarket, who import most of these packaged items turn over an area of their car park to house a recycling point, and make them responsible to return x% of the weight/volume they import off-island.
Thank you, I look forward to reading your post.
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