Energy for Waste plant / Environment Section – 15th July 2026
A group of us had a wonderful visit to the incinerator on Tuesday 15th July, starting at 5.30pm and finishing at 7.30pm. Piers Tharme, Senior Operations Manager of Recycling showed us around, along with his colleague Vincent. The incinerator was built in 2011 and is technically halfway through its working life, although with a budget to replace parts it will almost certainly go on a lot longer.
We donned Hi-Viz jackets and hard hats before entering the working part of the building and took the first four floors in the lift. We entered the Control Room with its banks of screens covering every aspect of the incinerator, and a large window overlooking where the trucks dump the rubbish throughout the day. The incinerator processes 70,000 tons of rubbish a year and can take a capacity of 120,000 tons. It is operated 24/7, and there are always three engineers on duty who do 8 hour shifts. In front of the massive window overlooking the rubbish there are two large swivel chairs with panels that operate the grabs when an operator is on duty. Through the big window we could see the grab coming down and lifting the rubbish into the incinerator. It’s important to sift through the rubbish and ensure there is a balance of wet and dry, rather than say bags and bags of rotting new potatoes which slow the furnace down, or all dried waste, such as wood, which overheats it. The incinerator itself is a sloping shoot which burns the rubbish at 1,000 degrees as it drops slowly downwards.
On leaving the control room we went up several flights of open-grid metal steps to reach the top of the building from where we could look down on the entire works. Massive machinery in this area scrubs the exhaust gasses so that they are almost completely clean when released. The energy from the incinerator provides 7% of Jersey’s electricity. The very fine ash emerges at the bottom of the incinerator, along with lumps of metal and glass. The ash falls into large bags which are shipped out, and it is made into giant blocks for industrial construction purposes. The metal and other solid lumps are shipped and sold to companies in the UK that can process it. Looking out from the top we had a wonderful view of the bay, Elizabeth Castle, the town, and the fort. And some futuristic views looking down!
Vincent mentioned some of the dangers involved, one of which is gas cylinders which people thoughtlessly include in their waste. These explode when processed, but luckily the building is designed to take the shock. Aluminium cans in rubbish can be one of the worse items as they melt and hang around the inside of the furnace, so that it has to be shut down and cleaned every once in a while.
It was wonderful to be shown around by two men with such interest in, and dedication to their work. We had an amazing evening!
Author/ Secretary of Environment Section – Nicolette Westwood
Nicolette@societe.je
Photo Credits : Jooj Duquemin
