Waste management statistics

Recycling statistics

In 2020:

the Jersey recycling rate was 27%
27,926 tonnes of non-inert material was recycled (for example: garden waste, paper and electrical goods)

Total non-inert waste received and percentage recycled

Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment, download the chart data

In 2020:

management of the covid-19 pandemic resulted in the temporary closure of the household recycling facilities, suspension of two Parish household recycling collections, and the stockpiling of various recyclables due to export restrictions
the recycling rate was 27%, down from 29% in 2019, with notable decreases in the tonnage of plastic, paper and card, textiles, and glass being recycled
there was little change in the amount of non-recyclable waste generated by the Island; there was a small decrease of 425 tonnes or 0.4%
notable increases were recorded in the tonnage of plasterboard, green waste, packaging wood, and packaging metal being recycled

Materials recycled by tonnage

Source: Government of Jersey Department for Growth, Housing and Environment, download the chart data

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

Type of waste	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
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

Type of waste	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
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

Type of waste	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
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

Material	Destination	Outcome
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.