Islanders set to discuss future waste solutions

Wednesday 01 September 2010

Islanders from all walks of life will have the opportunity to put forward their views on Guernsey’s future waste strategy as part of an island-wide consultation launched next week.

A series of events have been planned over the coming months that will help shape the new waste strategy, beginning with two workshop sessions on 8 September and 9 September.

More than 80 local groups and organisations have been invited to take part, including the parish douzaines, local environmental and conservation groups, business representatives, youth organisations, unions, charities and community groups.

They can each nominate up to two representatives – one for each session – and more than 100 islanders are expected to take part over the two evenings.

The feedback from these workshops will then be detailed at a public event at Beau Sejour during the first weekend in October. This ‘drop-in’ session will be open to all islanders, and they will have an opportunity to discuss the findings and provide their own comments.

These first workshops and drop-in session will focus on defining the objectives of the new strategy, and the key criteria that should be used to assess any future solution for dealing with the island’s waste. Similar events are being planned to look at other considerations, including the type of technology to be used.

Public Services Deputy Minister, Deputy Scott Ogier, who is heading up the development of the new waste strategy, said the Department wanted to hear the views of as wide a cross-section of the island as possible throughout the process.

‘We said when the States rejected the proposed Suez plant earlier this year that before we come back with a new strategy we would first listen to the public. That is the purpose of this process,’ he said.

‘It is no good us going away and simply asking what States Members want or coming up with our own solution. That approach has failed us in the past, and we cannot afford to fail again. We have to get it right this time, and that means not just listening to this group or that group, but encouraging everyone to get involved.
‘We need islanders to help define the strategy, because we will need their support to make it work.’

Deputy Ogier said a great deal of work has been going on behind the scenes in preparing for the consultation programme. There was insufficient time to begin this before the schools summer holiday, when many islanders are away, which meant waiting until the autumn.

‘A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes preparing for this programme. I don’t think that will necessarily be apparent now or even after the first sessions, but when we get to the end of this process and people see the results I believe they will realise it was time well spent,’ he said.

A full list of invitees to the workshops is available online. They range from the island’s Chamber of Commerce and Institute of Directors, representing the business community, to the WRVS, the West Show Committee and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Other groups include the Guernsey Disabilities Alliance, La Société Guernesiaise, environmental campaigners GCAN, the Guernsey Housing Association, and local event organisers the Vale Earth Fair Collective. Each States Department has also been invited to nominate two board members.

Deputy Ogier said any local group or organisation that has not been invited to attend but wished to participate in the workshop sessions should contact the Department.