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Residents' Waste

Newsletter

July 2023

News

Potential industrial action

We were recently informed by our collections contractor, SUEZ UK that members of the Unite union intend to start industrial action from Wednesday 12 July, striking on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for four weeks.

We expect this to cause widespread and significant disruption to refuse and recycling collections and could affect the majority of residents in some way.

Contingency planning is now underway to try and limit the impact on residents. We will soon be providing regular updates on our website and social media, along with advice on how to manage your waste if your collection is delayed.

Take on the challenge to go single-use plastic free this July

Pledge to reduce plastic waste

We’re backing the movement to go single-use plastic free and encouraging residents to be part of the solution to plastic pollution. Last year households in Somerset recycled close to 6,500 tonnes of plastic – about 29 lorries each month.

While plastic recycling is great, choosing to refuse single-use plastic is even better. Could you take up the challenge to make a change each day in July? Your changes could make a huge difference and hopefully become a good habit for life.

Simple changes we can all make to go plastic free include: 

• Opt for the plastic free, or no packaging alternatives. Loose fruit and vegetables are available in many supermarkets or pick items wrapped in paper rather than plastic. 
• Use a reusable water bottle. Somerset has five, free-to-use tap water stations – find your local one online.
• Switch from bottle to bar for your bathroom products. Somerset has many re-fill shops, support local businesses while picking up your plastic free alternatives. 
• When plastic cannot be avoided, much of it can be recycled in the weekly kerbside collections throughout Somerset - use the Bright Blue Bag for plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays.

A calendar of ideas is available from Plastic Free July. Don’t forget to share your swaps with us on Facebook!

Advanced notice, changes to collections for August Bank Holiday

Changes to collections for the bank holiday

Collections will be a day later during the week beginning Monday, 28 August. There won’t be any collections on Bank Holiday Monday, 28 August.

• Collections will be one day later for the rest of the week. Including collections that would usually take place on Friday 1 September taking place on Saturday 2 September.
• All recycling centres will be open as usual on Bank Holiday Monday.

Head to our website to check your usual collection day and download a calendar.

Reuse

Choose to reuse

Repairing a radio

Recycling is great, but reducing and reusing is even better. By reducing the amount of waste we produce, we can cut the need to create new products. One way to reduce waste at home is to choose to repair rather than replace.

Somerset has a thriving network of repair groups, that just keeps growing. Repair groups are run by volunteers and aim to help members of the public love their stuff for longer. Volunteers in the groups are often able to fix household items such as radios or kettles or advise on what parts are needed to make them work again. Repairs are carried out for free, but donations are always welcome to contribute to the costs of running the group.

If you want to join the repair revolution, the following groups are running this summer:

• Repair Café in the Blackdown Hills, 22 July
• Repair Café Bridgwater, 29 July
• Brittons Ash Repair Café (West Monkton), 19 July, 16 August
• Chard Community Hub (Sewing repair), every Thursday
• Chard Community Hub (General repair), 8 July, 22 July, 5 August, 19 August
• Compton Dundon Repair Café, 8 July
• Glastonbury Repair Café 15 July, 19 August
• Ilminster Share and Repair, every Monday, Thursday and Saturday
• Langport Repair Café, 22 July, 26 August
• Porlock Vale Repair Café, 29 July, 26 August
• Shepton Mallet Repair Café, 8 July, 12 August
• Taunton Repair Café, 8 July
• Repair Café Wincanton, 22 July, 26 August
• Wivey Repair Café, 15 July, 19 August
• Yeovil Repair Workshop, 30 July

Please note the location of some groups changes, always check with the group for updates and timings.

If you have replaced an item of tech (such as a smart phone), then don’t forget that you can donate your pre-loved items to be reused locally.

Visit Donate IT for your local collection point or join Fixy at their next event.

Fixy at Sustainable Street - Saturday 22 July, 10am-4pm

Come and visit Fixy

Fixy will be part of the Sustainable Street event organised by Eco Friendly Shop CIC, Street Parish Council and volunteers. You can find a variety of interesting stalls, talks, films and an exhibition at various venues around Street – Crispin Centre, Methodist Church and Quaker Meeting House.

You’ll find Fixy in Southside car park in Vestry Road, behind Crispin Centre. Come and speak to the team and find out about community repair groups across the county, what they offer and opportunities to get involved.

At the Fixy stall, we’ll also be accepting donations of unwanted smart tech for reuse, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, PCs/desktops and digital cameras, smart speakers, smart watches, games consoles and accessories. Check the full list of smart tech items accepted.

Please bring the relevant power cables, AC adaptors and accessories to enable greater reuse.

Make sure you unlock your device (e.g. remove PIN/password) and unlink the device from your iCloud (or similar) account so it can be securely data wiped and reused.

So dig out that forgotten unused smart tech and bring it along, even if it’s old or got a cracked screen.

We’ll pass this tech on to Somerset-based DonateIT, who can repair and repurpose it before it goes back out into our communities, helping to address the digital divide. Data is completely wiped to comply with data protection regulations. Any items not fit for reuse will be recycled securely.

Electrical items are full of valuable raw materials, such as gold, copper, aluminium and steel. Making new items also uses huge amounts of energy. Reusing them is a small but useful action in tackling climate change!

And you can chat with us about other ideas to make the most of your stuff, waste less and save more, or ask us about local recycling and where it goes.

Can’t make the event? Visit DonateIT for drop off locations for unwanted smart tech.

World Re-fill Day, top-up with tap water

Last month we celebrated World Refill Day, with the aim to encourage everyone to choose re-fill. Along with Wessex Water, we provide free water bottle refill stations in five of the county’s busiest high-streets. Choosing to re-fill can saving you money and avoid thousands of single-use plastic bottles going to waste.

An estimated 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are used in the UK every year however Somerset’s water refill stations have prevented the need for more than 70,000 single-use plastic bottles.

Last year Somerset recycled an estimated 120 million plastic bottles – recycling is good, but reducing and preventing waste is even better. To make this a little easier, free water bottle refill stations can be found in:

• Taunton
• Minehead
• Wellington
• Bridgwater
• Yeovil

So next time you pop into town, don’t forget to grab a water bottle to take with you. We want to encourage everyone to carry a water bottle with them, and to choose to top up with tap water for free at a refill point.

Not near a refill point?

Why not download the free ‘Refill’ app? Use it to easily find participating shops and cafes who will refill your water bottle for free.

To find out more about Somerset Council and Wessex Water’s re-fill points online.

When you do need to recycle plastic bottles, please put them in your Bright Blue Bag for weekly collection. Squash them and pop the lid back on if you can – it saves space and helps recycling trucks make fewer journeys, speeding up collections and reducing mileage with all the associated carbon costs. Plastic bottles can also be taken at Somerset’s 16 recycling sites.

Get it Sorted!

Reusing textiles

What could you reuse?

Recycling is great, but when you reuse or repurpose an item it’s even better for the planet and our pockets.

We’ve all seen the news about fast fashion and its contribution to climate change. We want to find ways to tackle this and encourage everyone to choose to reuse.

Why reuse?

Reuse is good for the planet and your pocket.

1. Save money – buying second-hand is often cheaper than buying new and you can find some unique one-off items.
2. Help your local community – donating clothing to charity can help those in need buy high-quality items cheaper and the profits often go to a good cause.
3. Save energy - a lot of energy goes into the production of new items so by re-using unwanted items first we can help reduce the need to produce new ones.
4. Raise some extra cash by selling unwanted items.  

Not sure where to start when it comes to re-using clothing? Here’s our top 3 clothing reuse ideas.

1. Turn a baggy t-shirt into a summer tunic. In need of a an extra layer for the beach? Grab an old t-shirt and turn it into a summer tunic.
2. Make Capes for the Kids – a fun idea for the school holidays, easy to make and decorate! 
3. Easy to sew DIY makeup remover wipes. Save yourself pounds on buying disposable makeup-wipes. All you need is an old flannel or towel and a piece of fabric perhaps from an old t-shirt or jumper.

Stamp out fire starters

Camping gas bottles should be taken to a recycling site

Last month we told you about the rise in fires, due to flammable items being put out with refuse and recycling.

As the weather heats up and the school holidays approach – with more people camping and barbequing, we want to remind everyone how to safely dispose of flammable items.

In May alone a whopping 731 gas canisters were found in residents recycling. Each one a potential fire starter.

Please dispose of your camping gas canister responsibly!

The team carefully look through recycling from the Bright Blue Bags. By removing these it’s prevented hundreds of fires - but you can help too!

When you have finished with a gas canister please do not put it out with your recycling or refuse collection. This can be dangerous for you and the crews. Please take gas canisters to your local recycling site

Barbeques can cause hazards and fires. Disposable barbeques should be left to cool before they are thrown away. After it has been left to cool for a few hours, pour some cold water on top to be sure.

To dispose of it safely, put extinguished coals and ash in your refuse; and foil trays in your recycling.

Cartons are now only recycled via kerbside collections

Thanks to the success of Recycle More, cartons such as Tetra Paks are no longer accepted at recycling sites.

Since adding them to the weekly collections, the number of cartons (like those used for milk and juice) recycled from the kerbside has more than doubled while the amounts deposited at recycling sites has fallen dramatically, making it no longer viable to collect cartons on-site.

Last year, Somerset recycled close to ten tonnes of cartons each month, with less than half a tonne having been collected across the recycling sites.

To recycle your cartons at the kerbside, flatten and put the cap back on, then pop them into your green recycling box.

Visit Somerset Council's waste pages for a full list of what you can recycle at the kerbside visit.