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Residents' waste

newsletter

August 2023

Latest news

Changes to collections for August Bank Holiday

Collections will be a day later during the week of 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 sites will be open as usual on Bank Holiday Monday.

Trial bags more than four tonnes of plastic bags and wrapping

More than four tonnes of plastic bags and wrapping have been collected for recycling as part of Somerset Council’s role in a national project to expand recycling collections.

Residents in the trial areas are asked to put their plastic bags and wrapping (sometimes referred to as soft or flexible plastics), such as bread bags or confectionary wrappers, into a recyclable plastic bag for collection on their usual recycling day.

This small-scale pilot includes around 3,600 homes across two locations in Frome.

Free family fun day at Carymoor

Image courtesy of Carymoor Environmental Trust

Carymoor Environmental Trust are inviting Somerset families to find out all about the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – at a family fun day on Wednesday 23 August between 10am and 12.30pm or 2pm and 4.30pm.

The education team will show families the unique site at Carymoor where a capped landfill site has been transformed into a nature reserve. Through fun games and activities, you’ll find out all about the benefits of reducing waste and recycling.

These events are free to Somerset residents, thanks to support from Somerset Council, however, places must be booked in advance.

The events are suitable for children aged 5-11, who need to be accompanied by a parent or carer.

Recycling

Somerset trash trail

Dragonfly 'litterbug'

Have you seen the life-size animals appearing in Taunton and the surrounding area?

The Trash Trail invites you to "have a rubbish day out" as you visit the Litterbug sculptures, encouraging conversations about the impact we all have on the planet. The trail was the initiative of a small group of locals and the money it generates from donations will go to local causes via the Somerset Community Foundation.

Visit their website to find out more details and purchase a trail map.

Somerset recycling week, coming soon

In September we’ll be publishing our latest recycling tracker. It’s important that you know where your recycling goes, so we monitor what happens to every tonne of Somerset’s household waste.

As well as sharing the latest info on where your recycling goes, we’ll bring you a week of updates all focussed on the topic of recycling – what can you do to recycle even more?

Our homes are full of hidden recyclables and we want to encourage everyone to take up the challenge to reduce, reuse and recycle items you may have previously thrown out.

Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages during September!

Slow your speed when visiting recycling sites

If you’re a regular visitor to Chard’s recycling site, you will have seen the recently installed speed ramps. We’re currently updating the traffic calming measures at several of our recycling sites, with new ramps at Highbridge, Bridgwater, Wellington and Castle Cary in the pipeline.

The updated ramps are designed to slow traffic down to the required 5 mph and will help to keep both staff and visitors safe.

The speed limit at all our recycling sites is 5 mph. Unfortunately, there's been repeated incidents of speeding vehicles and evasive action being taken due to unsafe driving. Recycling sites can be busy places with many pedestrians and we ask all visitors to respect the speed limit.

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Reduce and reuse for textiles

It’s been widely reported that the fashion industry is a large contributor to climate change. Consumers are often targeted to regularly refresh their wardrobes and buy new – rather than re-wear.

Did you know, by extending the wear of an outfit for as little as nine months it can reduce its environmental impact by up to 30%?

To help make it easier for you to love your things for longer or give them a second life, we’ve updated our web pages with guidance on textiles and fashion.

We can all take steps to help achieve a circular economy where products are used again and again.

Single use plastic ban

In January 2023, the Government announced a ban on a range of single-use plastic items that will come into effect from the start of October 2023.

From that point on, businesses across England will not be able to buy or sell certain single use plastic items. The ban includes single use plastic cutlery, trays, plates, bowls, and balloon sticks, as well as certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers.

Major UK recycling reform delayed by a year

Long-awaited plans, designed to make producers pay the full costs of dealing with the waste their products create, have been delayed for a year.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced that the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme will start in October 2025, rather than 2024.

Under EPR producers – the big brands, supermarkets and manufacturers - are due to fund the collection and recycling or disposal of the packaging they place on the market. The EPR fees they pay will be set in a way that encourages producers to reduce packaging, make it easier to recycle, and reduce the use of hard-to-recycle packaging. Local Authorities were due to receive their first payments under the system next year, but this will now be in 2025.