Waste management costs

​Request 750120035

1 

I would like to know what 'waste' materials are shipped off island and in each case what the costs are to the island for shipping and/or processing.  

2 

I would like to know whether the incinerator runs at a financial profit or a loss & a figure for that. 

3 

How much fuel is burned per year in the incinerator to keep it alight. 

Clarification request   

Please provide clarification regarding what is meant by ‘fuel’, e.g., rubbish that is burnt or dedicated fuel i.e. light fuel oil. 

Clarification Response 

The information that I am after is the fuel that is used to keep the incinerator burning, not the rubbish that is being burned. I had been informed that with moisture/liquid in the waste material fuel has to be burned to keep the waste alight. 

Response 

1 

The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) ships the following waste off island. 

Mixed paper 

Cardboard 

Plastic bottles 

Small mixed waste electrical and electronic equipment 

Cooling Appliances 

Visual display equipment 

Batteries 

Lamps 

Glass 

Plasterboard 

Pressurised cylinders 

Metals 

Incinerator bottom ash 

Air pollution control residue 

The waste shipping and processing costs are exempt under Article 33(b) (Commercial Interests) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as these are considered commercially sensitive. 

Article 33 is a qualified exemption; therefore, a public interest test has been applied and is shown at the end of this response. 

2 

The Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) provides a waste disposal service and is not part of a commercial environment with an objective to make a profit, for 2024 the net expenditure was £4.2 million, this excludes annual depreciation costs. 

3 

No dedicated fuel such as light fuel oil is burned to keep the Energy Recovery Facility boilers alight. Once alight, the fire is self-sustaining, burning Jersey’s commercial and municipal waste only as the fuel. The moisture/liquid within the waste material does not affect combustion. Additional fuel does not need to be burnt to keep the waste alight.  

Light fuel oil is used only to light up the boilers and this is planned twice per year for a few hours only.  

Articles applied 

Article 33 - Commercial interests 

Information is qualified exempt information if – 

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or 

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information). 

Public interest test 

In applying this article, the following considerations were taken into account.   

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure    

• Disclosure of the information would ensure the general public are informed about the Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) waste shipping and processing costs and 
• Disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public. 
• Disclosure would also promote trust in the SPA by showing openness. 
  

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information     

• The disclosure of waste shipping and processing costs could potentially disadvantage the contractors and the SPA’s ability to retain commercial advantage in any future tender process.  
• This could also result in the SPA’s inability to secure best value for the taxpayer and this will likely prejudice the SPA as its bargaining power decreases.  
• The disclosure of the waste shipping and processing costs may result in misinformed public debate, therefore, this could jeopardise the business relationship between the SPA and contractors.  Trust and confidentiality are key components of effective commercial relationships, and disclosure of sensitive financial data could erode that trust.  
  

All of the above points have been taken into consideration and while transparency and accountability is important, the public interest in disclosure must be weighed against potential harm caused by prejudice of the commercial interests and the risks of misinformation.   

The SPA has concluded that, on balance, the risk of causing harm caused by prejudice of the commercial interests and or concerns or spreading misinformation, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the benefits disclosing the information.