As staff at the Household Green Waste Site prepare for their summer opening times, we’re assured they do monitor queues and schedules may change in the future to reflect demand.
From Monday 30 March, the site at Mont Cuet will be open every day except Thursdays until 14 November.
Household green waste can be dropped off between 10:00 and 18:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from next week, and between 09:00 and 18:00 on Fridays. On Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays the site will be open between 10:00 and 16:00.
Until next Monday, the green waste site is only open on Saturday and Sunday between 10:00 and 16:00.
With the site still operating its winter hours, there have been queues recently as people make the most of the good weather and tackle their gardens.
Last weekend queues were reported to be as far back as the Pembroke/Chouet crossroads, while the weekend before there was a queue back as far as the Chouet kiosk at 10:00 when the site opened to the public.
Douglas Button, Guernsey Waste’s Waste Minimisation and Sustainability Officer, said they are aware, and he assured Express that the queues are monitored.
“The opening hours for the green waste site reflect the fact that the number of islanders dropping off material drops is typically very low in the late autumn and winter, and only begins to pick up at the start of spring,” he explained.
“The past couple of weekends have seen an increase, albeit not to the levels we expect to see in the summer. This no doubt reflected the warmer weather we have had recently, and did lead to queues at some times, but at other times the site was less busy.”
Mr Button said the site may change to its ‘summer opening’ schedule earlier next year, if the weather is as sunny next March.
“We do keep this under review, using traffic data to inform any changes,” he said. “Last year for example we extended the summer opening hours by two weeks, to reflect the number of vehicles that we were still seeing in late autumn.
“In light of the vehicle numbers over last weekend, we may look to bring it forward a little next year. However it is not a science, and we have to balance the cost of operating the site for six days a week with the demand from users.”
Anyone using the site, during the winter or summer opening times, is encouraged to check the rules on what can be dropped off before visiting.
The green waste is processed into “soil-improving compost”, which is available for free to collect from Longue Hougue.
This means “only suitable green waste should be brought to the site”, said Guernsey Waste.
Accepted materials include grass, leaves, branches, hedge trimmings and garden clippings. Oversized green waste is not accepted and items such as root balls and tree trunks must be cut into manageable sections that can be safely loaded by hand, without mechanical assistance, before being brought to the site.
Items such as plant pots, stones, soil, ragwort, Japanese knotweed, and green waste treated with herbicides or pesticides are not accepted.
A dedicated skip remains available for bamboo and pampas grass.