Islanders have raised questions about recycling following the introduction of Jersey Dairy’s new Tetra Pak cartons.
Although they are made with renewable materials which equates to a 22% cut in carbon emissions, the new cartons are burned at the Energy from Waste plant rather than being recycled.
Emma Richardson-Calladine, recycling manager, said that sending used cartons to the sole UK facility where they could be recycled, which is in Halifax, Yorkshire, had been considered but ruled out.
‘The cost and environmental footprint of collection, shipping and processing would be high,’ she said. ‘The cartons are not made of entirely recyclable material. There are some elements that can be recycled, but the process then leaves a residue that has to go to an energy recovery plant, which generates electricity for the UK grid.
‘The current process in Jersey involves the whole cartons going to our own energy recovery plant and generates electricity for the Island’s grid.’
Mrs Richardson-Calladine said there were other higher-priority areas for government recycling efforts.
‘Although we understand the public demand for carton recycling, we have to look across all waste streams. Our first priority is items that cannot go to the Energy from Waste plant and make sure businesses and households know that they must separate them; glass, metals, batteries and electrical goods.
‘Our priority list is constantly changing and public demand is a factor but, at present, our focus is on must-recycle items rather than could-recycle things like drinks cartons.’
Members of the recycling team are in contact with Jersey Dairy, Mrs Richardson-Calladine added, and were working with the firm and the eight parishes with household recycling collections to underline the message that drinks cartons should not be recycled but placed in ‘normal’ waste bins.
