Incinerator ash to be recycled into concrete blocks

The Jersey government has announced it is to end a 10-year deal that saw 1,900 tonnes of ash generated every year by the island’s incinerator at La Collette, sent to landfill in the UK.

The ‘fly ash’ will now be used to make concrete blocks instead.

Approximately two articulated trailers per week are loaded with hazardous ‘fly ash’ from the La Collette Energy Recovery Facility and shipped to the UK, according to a report in the Jersey Evening Post.

The Jersey government said it had not been allowed to export hazardous waste due to its obligations under the international Basel Convention, however, ash export is permitted by UK authorities.

The existing contract came to the end of its pre-agreed time period and was up for renewal, presenting an opportunity to do something different with the waste, said the report.

Expressions of interest in the contract were invited in January, and a new contract was signed earlier this year.

The ash will now be recycled into large concrete blocks, which will be used in the UK hazardous waste site. The first shipment for recovery was in September