Composting facilities are being reorganised at La Collette

Guy De Faye, minister responsible for Technical Services, said he was determined to meet a target of 32% of waste being recycled by 2008 or 2009.

The Technical Services department said it hoped to do that by increasing the number of collection points.

Meanwhile, residents living near a composting site in St Helier have been assured the smell will be significantly reduced if new facilities are built.

Wind direction

The government is reorganising its composting, recycling and waste disposal and wants to build new facilities at La Collette.

Residents said they were concerned about the smell from the site despite assurances it will be reduced.

John Richardson, chief executive of Transport and Technical Services, said the department was aware of the smell and doing all it could to stop it.

He said: "When we make compost from green waste, we have to keep turning it otherwise it will not compost correctly.

"Unfortunately, that turning process means it's moved around and that's when the smell gets into the atmosphere.

"We do try and not do it when the wind is in certain directions, but inevitably it is a very exposed site. We do recognise that as a problem."

But some Town politicians are opposing plans to keep a composting site at La Collette.

Constable Simon Crowcroft said if all the other branches of waste disposal were bunched together there, it would mean all waste going to one site.