The tables below provides more detail to explain the specific materials that are collected separately for recycling in Jersey.
Waste recycled (including composting), 2015 to 2020 in tonnes
Paper and card
| 7,092 | 6,875 | 7,216 | 6,478
| 6,357 | 6,047 |
Packaging wood | 1041 | 1,017 | 1,005
| 1,003 | 1,003 | 1,065 |
Metal packaging | 92 | 91 | 97 | 100 | 106 | 139 |
Textiles | 476 | 512 | 469 | 442 | 579 | 325 |
Plastic (supermarket film, agricultural crop cover and plastic bottles) | 1,211 | 1,942 | 744 | 511
| 1,113 | 431 |
Glass | 5,603 | 5,936 | 5,938 | 5,911 | 5,591 | 5,381 |
Green waste received | 13,056 | 12,838 | 13,255 | 11,310 | 9,916 | 9,997 |
Household metals | 1,076 | 1,201 | 1,259 | 1,295 | 1,163 | 1,094 |
Electrical and electronic equipment | 1,182 | 1,036 | 1,151 | 1,129 | 1,068 | 877 |
Batteries | 19 | 18 | 24 | 14 | 25 | 20 |
Plasterboard | 1,789 | 2,477 | 2,420
| 2,528 | 2,450 | 2,551 |
Gas cylinders | | | | 9 | 7 | 0 |
Acorn re-use centre (various) - La Collette
| | | |
| 248
| |
Total recycling |
32,637 |
33,943 |
33,578 |
30,731
|
29,626 |
27,926 |
Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment
Packaging wood includes an estimated tonnage of packaging timber collected by the private sector for re-use and recycling.
Electronical and electronic equipment includes light bulbs exported for specialist recycling.
Non-recyclable waste, 2015 to 2020 in tonnes
Parish deliveries to energy from waste plant (EFW)
| 38,661 | 39,581 | 38,248 | 38,180 | 37,403 | 35,639 |
Miscellaneous deliveries to EFW | 10,214 | 7,817 | 7,455 | 6,751 | 5,771 | 6,555 |
Bulky waste deliveries for shredding | 25,463 | 27,204 | 28,115 | 27,310 | 28,387 | 28,975 |
Dried sewage sludge to EFW | 145 | 453 | 508 | 519 | 1,080 | 2,595 |
Grit and rags from sewage treatment works to EFW | 728 | 735 | 366 | 432
| 530 | 682 |
Total residual | 75,211 | 75,790 | 74,692 | 73,192 | 73,171 | 74,446 |
Total non-inert waste (recycling and residual) | 107,848 | 109,733 | 108,270 | 103,923 | 102,797 | 102,372 |
Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment
Other waste processed or recycled 2015 to 2020 in tonnes
Scrap metal recycled | 8,576 | 11,082
| 10,106 | 8,716 | 9,045 | 7,564 |
Aggregates recycled | 75,166 | 69,199 | 73,051 | 73,837 | 83,909 | 77,194 |
Metals extracted from bottom ash | 825 | 516 | 390 | 1,176 | 1,391 | Not recorded |
Ash | 11,421 | 9,447 | 12,505 | 12,418 | 10,880 | 12,115 |
Sewage processed (million cubic metres) | 10.3 | 10.2 | 9.7 | 10.3 | 10.3 | 11.7 |
% of sewage receiving full treatment | 98.8% | 98.8% | 98.3% | 97.5% | 96.9% | 94.5% |
Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment
Kerbside recycling
In 2019, the following parishes offered a collection service for household recycling (paper and cardboard, metal packaging and plastic bottles):
- St. Brelade
- St. Helier
- St. John
- St. Lawrence
- St. Mary
- St. Peter
- St. Saviour
- Trinity
All parishes except St. Helier also continued to provide household glass collections. St. Helier, which holds approximately a third of the island’s households, continued to collect household glass using a bring bank system.
Bring banks
In 2019, the bring bank recycling network contained 19 sites to collect:
- household paper
- metal packaging
- plastic bottles
- batteries
Cardboard recycling is also available on the larger sites to make it easier for Islanders to recycle household boxes and card packaging.
Recycling processes
Recycling process by material
Paper and card
| Exported to UK recyclers
| Processed to create recycled paper and card products |
Packaging wood | Processed locally
| Reused, animal bedding and kindling wood |
Metal packaging | Exported to UK or European recyclers | Melted down into raw metals and used to create recycled metal products, for example food and drink cans
|
Textiles | Re-used locally or exported by local charity | Re-used or recycled into fabric by textile mills
|
Plastic bottles
| Exported to a UK recycler
| Processed to create recycled plastic products
|
Gas cylinders
| Exported to a UK recycler | Components are separated and recycled
|
Glass
| Processed locally | Used as a basic construction aggregate
|
Green waste
| Processed locally | Agricultural compost or soil improver for household use |
Electrical and electronic equipment | Exported to a UK recycler | Components are separated and recycled into metal and plastic products |
Batteries | Exported to a UK recycler | Recycled into metal products including new batteries |
Lamps (light bulbs and tubes) | Exported to a European recycler | Components are separated and recycled |
Plasterboard | Processed locally and exported to a UK recycler
| Combined with green waste and composted to create an agricultural compost or exported to a specialist recycler for processing
|
Waste incidents
Waste incidents can include fly-tipping, burning and improper disposal of construction materials. They can also include any issues arising from waste activities or at sites involving waste. Incidents are reported to Environmental Protection through a pollution hotline, by email or using the Love Jersey App and website.
In 2021, a total of 173 waste incidents were reported. Fly-tipping accounted for 90% of all waste incidents (156 incidents).
There were 127 incidents where it was possible to investigate further. Of these, 110 were fly-tipping incidents. Further investigation includes any action taken beyond an initial site assessment in order to identify a suspect.
Comparing 2021 with 2020 shows that:
total reported incidents increased by 10%
total reported fly-tipping incidents increased by 17%
proportion of incidents investigated increased to 73% up from 61%
Total number of reported waste incidents from 2017 to 2021
Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment,
download the chart data
Environmental Protection believe that the number of successful posecutions in 2018 highlighted fly-tipping as antisocial behaviour. The increased public awareness led to significantly more fly-tipping incidents being recorded.
Total number of reported waste incidents investigated from 2008 to 2021
Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment,
download the chart data
The total number of investigated waste incidents increased from 95 in 2020 to 127 in 2021. This is the highest since the Love Jersey app and website was introduced in 2017. It also marks the highest proprtion of incidents investigated.
Enforcement action taken in 2021 in accordance with the Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005
Source:
Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment,
download the chart data
‘No current action’ indicates the 49 reported incidents where no formal enforcement action could be taken. This is because there was no contravention of the Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005, no evidence of pollution, or an offender could not be identified.
Fly-tipping
Fly-tipping incidents form a large portion of waste incident reports. These reports take many hours of investigation to resolve.
Fly-tipping is an offense under the Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005. It is also an offence under the policing of roads, parks and beaches regulations.
Annual fly-tipping incidents from 2017 to 2021
Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment,
download the chart data
In 2021:
- fly-tipping made up 90% of total waste incidents, up from 85% in 2020.
-
fly-tipping made up 87% of total investigated waste incidents
- suspects were identified in 15% of total fly-tipping incidents
- suspects were identified in 22% of investigated fly-tipping incidents
It is worth noting that Parish of St. Helier record their own statistics related to incidents of dumped (fly-tipped) waste items. Most of these incidents involve dumped household waste such as white goods and furniture which the parish has collected. Only in some cases, where there is enough evidence, is the report passed to Environmental Protection to investigate.
Further information
You can find more information on waste management, energy from waste emissions, and recycling using the links below.
Recycling
Waste management (commercial)
Solid Waste Strategy
Pollution hotline
Love Jersey