Workers put at risk by 'dangerous' items thrown away in Guernsey

Guernsey States are running a new campaign to advise islanders on how to dispose of potentially dangerous items correctly to avoid injury or fire.

The slogan 'check before you chuck, don't leave it to luck' hopes to highlight the household items that can pose a serious risk if they are thrown away in general waste or recycling bags.

The mismanagement of items such as aerosols and batteries can endanger lives and cause major damage to property or machinery.

Households in Guernsey will get a leaflet in the next few days to explain how and where to dispose of items like batteries, e-cigarettes, flares and mobile phones.

Rachel Scally, Guernsey's Waste Contracts and Compliance Manager, said: "Over the past three years, we have had almost 30 separate fire incidents at the waste transfer station at Longue Hougue.

"Four were activated by flares. Fortunately, none of these resulted in serious injury or damage because our fire suppression systems managed to extinguish them. However, we have been lucky so far, because these items could have ignited or explode at any point from when they were collected through to being processed."

The campaign, which is being supported by Guernsey's Fire and Rescue service, will appear across the island on posters, beer mats, banners and on social media.

Tim Falla, Guernsey's Fire and Rescue Service Head of Operations and Training, said: "In the past three years we have attended the waste transfer station at Longue Hougue on a number of occasions, to deal with fire incidents caused by items that were disposed of as general waste.

"Fortunately, none of these incidents have caused serious injury or damage, but there is always that risk. We would therefore urge islanders to be aware of items that can be dangerous and follow the advice on how to dispose of them correctly.”

Further information on the most common dangerous waste items and explanation on how to dispose of them correctly can be found here.