Jersey struggles to
meet environmental challenges, says former Environment Minister Rob Duhamel.
Whichever way you look at it Jersey cannot be said to be at the forefront of sustainability and at best is a very pale green society. This is a real shame as the wealth generated over the last forty years could/should have been invested in improving the environment for all. The elephant in the room all this time has been the illusion that economic growth is the panacea of all ills. Don’t get me wrong, growth is important to an economy but the unchecked exploitative growth that we have witnessed has been at the expense of a loss of quality in the environment. Islanders will therefore need to embrace qualitative improvement of the environment as the base strategy for government and work together as a community like never before or the future will be further environmental degradation to everyone’s disadvantage.
Although sustainability has been included in previous strategic plans (frequently by non-ministerial amendment) the financial backing hasn’t followed.
The previous TTS Minister told us of his election pledge not to leave a legacy of toxic ash or other waste materials in active pits at La Collette. Encouraged by the Environment Minister to follow the waste hierarchy which puts remediation above landfill, permissions were sought and given to neutralise these materials. However despite assurances asbestos related material is still stockpiled in rusting containers and monies not yet found to pay for the clean up. At least four companies have expressed interest in assisting the Island to eliminate this waste completely and the route for remediation either on island or off is clear. The question of whether the States should be accepting this material and seeking to use taxpayers’ funds has not been addressed. A simple law change to place the burden on the developer to broker with treatment companies at their own expense might be the more logical route to go – user pays. Committing large areas of land at La Collette to long term waste dumps which cannot be built on isn’t joined up planning
with long term environmental improvement at its heart. The Island Plan supported by all, seeks policy decisions based on wise use of resources. So will the States at a time of budget cuts ignore the commitment made to following environmental best practice and go for the landfill dump option nevertheless?
The incinerator £108M bill is still rising. Recent damage was caused by indiscriminate inclusion of car engine blocks as part of the household and bulky waste. The ash solution and costs have not been finalised. On visiting plants in UK, France, Isle of Man and Norway before the machine was purchased it was interesting to note the strict protocols to minimise the waste burned and to exclude items that were not combustible or damaging. Indeed many jurisdictions have since upgraded their operational strategies and moved to this so-called Zero Waste policy. The incinerator was originally sized for a growing population of individuals who would all be increasing the waste they produced. Since construction, recycling schemes have become more popular as wise use of resources enters the public psyche. Jersey is still only recycling about a third of its material and ignoring recyclate markets for the lucrative oil-based materials amongst others. We continue to burn kitchen and food waste sub-optimally. There is now talk amongst politicians of increasing the material burned by adding in Guernsey’s waste to run our “power plant”. The true position of incineration within the waste hierarchy is being ignored even with the public goodwill for doing more on the recycling front. Zero
Waste should be endorsed asap and we should again be following best environmental practice to reduce emissions. Waste not – want not.
Housebuilding & regeneration. The States endorsed the Island Plan amendments to encourage affordable units this summer but also passed over all the housing property to the new Andium company and agreed that rentals should be increased to within open market levels to repay loans. Some progress has been made in working with the new company to ensure that homes are built to better standards. There remains however a mismatch of expectation in size of units available. UK house sizes are amongst the smallest in Europe when they needn’t be if modern build methods are employed. Building affordable homes and increasing ownership is the sustainable route. The La Collette flats being so close to the incinerator and electricity power station are in an ideal position to benefit through rebuilding from the heat load which is presently being squandered through the seawater cooling system. In so doing the requirement to treat the water with chemicals designed to discourage crustaceans from lining the pipe interior would be reduced/eliminated and the waste heat put to better use. It remains to be seen just how sustainable the new company will be directed to be.
20/20 - Our Environment
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