I know that many of you are very concerned about the provision of services in Patrick, particularly the ongoing situation at the Western Amenity Site. I share your concerns. While a reasonable service is expected, I believe we should be aiming for an outstanding service.
Excellent Service Isn’t a Myth—It’s a Choice
Before the laughter starts and the endless tirade of jokes about services across the Isle of Man begins, I want to highlight something important: I have seen what excellent performance looks like, and it is achievable. I wrote extensively about this in a blog post on my site last month.
So, where does that leave us?
The government has published a Waste Strategy 2025-2035 (available on my site), and I have highlighted the most important sections of the report below. Arguably, one could say that if the public throws their support behind this, we should see better services, as many improvements will finally be legislated.
However, legislation alone will not produce excellent services. That requires much tighter oversight from Local Boards.
Currently, the will for that oversight just isn’t there. In my observation, local boards only make changes when there is “blood in the streets”—figuratively speaking. If you want better services, you need to make it very plain to your commissioners that you demand improvement. You probably need to remind them at every occasion you get—at least once a month.
What a drag, hey? But it’s the only way things move.
Below is a summary of the report below.
The new Waste Strategy 2025-2035 introduces several proposals that directly affect waste management in the West, particularly concerning the Western Civic Amenity Site (WCAS) and regional disposal facilities like Wrights Pit North.
The key proposals in relation to the West include:
1. Transformation of Civic Amenity Sites
The strategy aims to standardize and secure the future of the four regional civic amenity sites, including the Western site:
- Legal Duty: The Department of Infrastructure (DoI) proposes making the provision of Civic Amenity Sites a legal duty for Local Authorities to ensure the service is secured for the long term.
- Performance Standards: The DoI intends to introduce set service levels and performance standards to address the current differences in service provision and recycling opportunities across the four regional sites.
- Mandatory Reuse Centres: The strategy proposes that all sites, including WCAS, incorporate reuse centres where items like electrical goods can be collected for reuse rather than disposal.
- New Governance Model: A waste service governance and oversight model will be developed to report on compliance with these new standards.
2. Regional Landfill Changes (Wrights Pit North)
The West is currently home to Wrights Pit North, one of the Island’s two operational landfill sites:
- Expected Closure: The strategy notes that Wrights Pit North, which currently accepts asbestos, plasterboard, and contaminated soil, is expected to be full within the next five years.
- Shift to the South: To replace this capacity, the Government plans to construct a new engineered landfill facility at Turkeylands (in the South), which will have an estimated lifespan of 20 years. This suggests a major shift in where Western waste of this type will be disposed of in the future.
3. Regional Recycling and Collections
- Expanding Recycling Duty: The strategy proposes making it a duty for Local Authorities in the West (and elsewhere) to recycle materials that provide an environmental and economic benefit.
- Review of Kerbside Items: A review will be conducted to determine the most appropriate items for kerbside collection to minimize environmental damage, which will then inform regional service levels.
- Drop Banks: For rural or hard-to-reach areas in the West where kerbside collection isn’t feasible, the strategy encourages the use of local drop banks for key recyclables.
4. Financial and Operational Accountability
- Polluter Pays Principle: The strategy reinforces that those who generate waste should bear the cost, which may influence how local rates in the Western parishes are calculated for waste services.
- Cost Efficiency: While Local Authorities remain responsible for household collections, the DoI suggests that rationalizing or combining services between authorities could achieve better economies of scale and efficiency.
The full waste strategy report is here:
