May 2023
This May we have a bumper number of Bank Holidays. While this hopefully means enjoying extra time off, and perhaps some sunnier weather, it does mean we have special arrangements for waste collections.
Take note of the changes:
This week, (beginning 1 May) your waste is being collected on your usual scheduled day, collections also happened on Bank Holiday Monday (1 May).
So, if your collection day is usually a Wednesday, it will be collected on Wednesday this week. If its usually a Thursday it will be collected on Thursday etc.
During the weekend of the King's coronation, there will be changes to your collection days:
- No collections on Bank Holiday Monday, 8 May
- Collections will be one day later than usual for the rest of that week. Including collections that would usually take place on Friday 12 May taking place on Saturday 13 May.
Are you having a coronation party?
Will you be celebrating with friends, family and neighbours? Make sure your party is sustainable, follow our tips and ideas - from avoiding single-use items, to cutting out food waste and making your own bunting.
Late May Bank Holiday
Looking ahead to the end of the month and the late spring bank holiday on 29 May, there will be no collections this day. Crews will be collecting one day later than usual for the rest of the week, including collections on Saturday 3 June.
What about the recycling centres?
Your local recycling centre will be open as usual throughout, this includes opening on bank holidays if it is part of its usual opening arrangements, check online for opening times.
 |
|
Thanks to you, our Somerset residents, we’ve seen the county’s recycling rate rise to 56.2%.
Defra recently published their recycling league table and we were pleased to see the impact of the Recycle More scheme put us in the top 30 - 28th out of 228 local authorities (2021-2022).
This year will also see changes in our collections for a small number of residents as we begin to trial the collection of plastic bags and wrapping. If your household is part of this trial you’ll have been notified separately – (see article below) It’s small-scale at this stage but the aim is to expand in the years ahead.
|
In 2021-22, almost 150,000 tonnes of waste was recycled or reused, saving around 133,000 tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of taking more than 51,000 cars off the road for a year. A massive 97.2% of this was recycled into new products and packaging in the UK. Of the 5,771 tonnes of plastics collected, 99.4% were reprocessed in the UK.
Councillor Sarah Dyke, Lead Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “Recycling is a small thing that we can all do to make a difference every day, and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us achieve these great results.
“Taking the time to separate your recycling and put it in the right boxes and bag is what makes it possible for us to recycle more and recycle more close to home.”
Spring is here and that means more of us out in the garden. Whatever you end up trimming, strimming or cutting, there are three ways to dispose of your garden waste.
Home composting
Turn your garden waste into a valuable asset that saves you money, helps the environment and improves you garden or allotment.
We are working with Get Composting to offer Somerset residents home compost bins at reduced prices, including a buy-one-get-one-half-price deal for two of the same size.
A 220-litre bin is only £16.00 plus postage and packaging. Delivery is just £6.99 per order. Why not order two and share delivery with a friend, neighbour or relative?
Garden Waste collections
Join the 56,000 plus subscribers, it couldn’t be easier. Just use the ‘Online Waste Services’ feature on the somerset.gov.uk/waste website and pick the ‘Garden Waste’ option.
It should only take a couple of minutes to complete the form and you can apply at any time of the year for a 12-month subscription.
We offer fortnightly garden waste collections through a pre-paid 180-litre wheeled bin at a cost of £63.50.
Please make sure you read our terms and conditions at the bottom of the page.
If you’re an existing subscriber, we’ll send you an annual renewal notice - by email if you have provided us with one, or by letter if you haven’t. These will be sent in the first week of the month prior to the expiry date. So, a January mailing for those expiring in February, February mailing for subscriptions expiring in March etc.
But there’s no need to wait. You can subscribe for another 12 months at any point and it will be added on after the point at which your current subscription expires.
Please remember, uninterrupted collections are only possible if you renew before the expiry date.
You can also order packs of ten garden waste sacks for £31.10, and then book collections of them when needed - all done through ‘Online Waste Services’.
 |
|
Recycling sites
All 16 Somerset recycling sites take garden waste. To find your nearest recycling site and check opening hours, visit somerset.gov.uk/waste
|
A small number of residents in Frome will soon receive a letter to say that their recycling collection will include flexible plastics. Following the success of expanded Recycle More collections, Somerset Council successfully bid to be part of a national ‘FlexCollect’ trial of kerbside collection of soft plastics.
The trial collections will be available to around 3,600 homes across two locations in Frome, starting near the end of May. Those able to participate will receive information in the post shortly.
No other householders, in Frome or elsewhere in the county, can participate or request to take part.
The costs of the pilot collections are funded nationally. The only costs to the council are time and resources. Depending on progress, it is expected that the trial will be expanded to more Somerset homes next year.
|
Somerset’s Fixy initiative celebrates its first birthday this month, having started the repair and reuse conversation with nearly 3,000 people.
Fixy is all about encouraging and helping the repair and reuse of electricals and the team has attended over 80 events over the last 12 months.
Many of these have been supporting Somerset’s network of repair groups, giving practical help, encouraging more volunteers to get involved and generally banging the drum for breathing new life into old items.
Fixy also runs a ‘tech take back’ service, accepting donations of unwanted or broken smart tech, such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart watches, digital cameras, game consoles, routers, hard drives, external disk drives, and their leads and chargers. Donations are data-wiped and repaired as necessary by Somerset specialists DonateIT, and passed onto schools, community groups and families who need them.
Since it launched in May 2022, over 1,500 items have been reused in this way.
The scheme’s first year was funded by a grant from the Ecosurety Exploration Fund and managed by Resource Futures in partnership with Somerset Waste Partnership, now Somerset Council – and Donate IT.
For more about Fixy, upcoming events, repair and reuse, visit the Somerset Council waste web pages.
Where’s Fixy?
Saturday 13 May 2023, 10am to 4pm (Fixy stall, not van) at Eat: Taunton (pitch location TBC)
Saturday 27 May 2023, 10am to 4pm Fixy van at Eat: Burnham on Sea (TBC)
Saturday 3 June 2023, 10am to 4pm (Fixy stall, no van) at Stoke St Gregory EnviroFair, The Williams Hall (village hall), Dark Lane, Stoke St Gregory TA3 6EU
The BIG FIX 2023!
The BIG FIX is back, and this time it’s even bigger and better!
Running throughout the whole of May, The BIG FIX has one aim – to fix and breathe new life into as many broken things as possible.
The event, coordinated by Recycle Devon, sees skilled menders fix broken items such as electronics, garden equipment, clothing, jewellery, clocks and much more to give them a new lease of life.
Keep an eye on social media for more details soon.
Don’t forget businesses across Somerset can access online advice to prepare for new recycling requirements.
New legislation is on the way that will require all businesses to separate out more recycling - glass bottles and jars, metal food and drink cans, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, paper and cardboard from their general waste.
Any premises preparing or selling food, such as cafes, restaurants and pubs, will also have to separate and recycle food waste.
During March and April, Somerset trialled localised face-to-face support for businesses to discuss preparing for the change and Business Support Advisors contacted around 400 businesses in Langport, Chard and Ilminster.
Somerset also helped pilot the Business of Recycling website developed by WRAP.
The pilot has just finished, but the website remains in place, full of useful guidance and resources for business wanting to get ahead of the game and prepare.
If you have a business, please take a look. If you know someone who runs a business, encourage them to make use of it.
The website includes:
- A waste calculator tool to help businesses calculate how much waste they generate and how recycling can help save money
- Guidance on why they should recycle, waste audits, Duty of Care, procurement, communicating in the workplace, managing and storing waste
- Free downable communications resources to help businesses engage with staff and encourage recycling in the workplace.
At the beginning of April, when the new Somerset Council was formed, the Somerset Waste Partnership website was closed. However all of the services you previously used continue under the Somerset Council umbrella.
Where can I find my waste services information?
Waste news and information, including collection days, centre opening times and booking a garden waste collection can all be found online: www.somerset.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-waste/
Using the ‘Online waste services’ section gives you access to services including ordering new boxes and reporting a missed collection. Clicking on this section will open up a list of all the services.
It’s getting to that time of year where we start doing a little spring cleaning, but do you know the best way to get rid of your waste?
Firstly, don’t forget what may be waste to you, could be gold to someone else!
Reuse
If suitable, the best and most sustainable option is for your pre-loved item to be reused, could someone else make use of the item? Perhaps donate it to a local charity shop, a giveaway site such as Freegle or Freecycle, or try a local swap and sell Facebook group.
Does your electrical item no longer work, don’t throw it out! Why not pop to a local repair cafe and see if they can bring new life to your item?
The Fixy initiative has brought together repair groups across Somerset and a list of local repair groups can be found on the Somerset Waste website: somerset.gov.uk/somersets-repair-network/
Recycle
We accept a wide range of items for recycling at the kerbside, this includes clothing and electricals – but make sure you present them correctly to help out the crews.
Your clothes and shoes: please put these in a tied carrier bag – to keep them dry.
Small electrical items, such as a hairdryer, should be placed in an untied carrier bag – so that crews know what items they are handling.
Batteries should be placed in a tied carrier bag and added to the top of your recycling.
Have something larger to dispose of?
Replacing furniture or appliances? Make sure you pass them on if they could be used by others. Somerset has three furniture reuse groups which help local people in need get free or affordable, essential items – they’ll often collect them for free!
Each reuse group accepts various types of furniture and some electrical appliances in good working condition.
Upholstered furniture needs appropriate fire labels, and TVs and DVD players need the remote control and instructions.
Did you know that you could have more than waste news emailed to you?
Somerset Council has a number of newsletter topics that you can subscribe to, the latest being the climate newsletter: SEEN.
Somerset Council is asking residents to come on board to help deliver our climate strategy by signing up to its new climate newsletter SEEN: ‘Somerset Environmental and Ecological News’.
It’s full of news, project updates, and inspirational ideas about the work going on in the county in response to the Climate Emergency, along with information and tips to help us all live better, waste less and reduce our environmental impact. If we all do our bit and love where we live, we can keep Somerset clean, green and attractive.
Sign up and select to hear about the topics that interest you.
|
