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Sorted!
Residents' waste
newsletter
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Somerset recycling week returns on Saturday 16 September.
Keep your eyes peeled during Somerset Recycling Week as we publish the latest recycling tracker. We follow every item of waste that’s collected here in Somerset (from your kerbside and at the recycling site) so you can be assured that we are responsibly processing it. We share where your waste goes, the companies involved and its likely use as new packaging and products.
If you are planning to visit your local recycling site, please remember that from Sunday 1 October our 16 recycling sites will be changing to their autumn/winter opening hours. All sites will remain open on weekends from 9am to 4pm.
Midweek, opening days will vary from site to site, please check online. Recycling sites will be open from 9am to 5pm.
To find your local recycling site visit our recycling sites opening hours webpage.
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This month Fixy will be on the road and heading to events across Somerset.
- Thursday 7 September 2023, 10am to 1pm, Fixy team (no van) at the launch of Burnham and Highbridge Repair Cafe at the Waffle Hub, Methodist Church, 35A College Street, Burnham on Sea TA8 1AS.
- Saturday 16 September 2023, 10am to 4pm Fixy will be joining Yeovil Super Saturday Pitch details pending
- Saturday 23 September 2023, 10.30am to 3.30pm Fixy team is back for another Dulverton Antiques Valuation Day. Look out for Fixy van outside Dulverton Town Hall, Fore Street, Dulverton TA22 9EX.
What is Fixy?
The ‘Fixy’ initiative promotes repair and reuse, with a focus on electricals. The Fixy team and van travel across Somerset, popping up at events to talk to you about getting your stuff fixed and loving it for longer.
Repair groups help to bring to life your broken items – usually for low or no cost. The groups bring together like minded people, who have skills in fixing things and will do their best to help give your item a second life.
Upcoming groups this month (check the website for up-to-date times and locations):
- Repair Café in the Blackdown Hills, 23 September
- Repair Café Bridgwater, 30 September
- Burnham and Highbridge Repair Café, 7 & 16 September
- Chard Community Hub (sewing repair), every Thursday
- Chard Community Hub (general repair), 16, & 30 September
- Compton Dundon Repair Café, 9 September
- Glastonbury Repair Café, 16 September
- Ilminster Share and Repair, weekly, Monday, Thursday & Saturday
- Langport Repair Café, 23 September
- Brittons Ash Repair Café, 20 September
- Porlock Vale Repair Café, 30 September
- Shepton Mallet Repair Café, 9 September
- Taunton Repair Café, 9 September
- Repair Café Wincanton, 23 September
- Wivey Repair Café, 16 September
A list of repair groups, times and locations can be found online: Somerset’s Repair Network
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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.
Do not put gas canisters in your recycling
Our collection crews and teams at recycling facilities continue to see items, such as batteries, gas canisters and vapes put out incorrectly, either in refuse or recycling bins. These items can easily catch fire, so it is important that they are handled correctly.
To help keep everyone safe we want to remind residents of the ways to dispose of the items:
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Gas canisters: do not put them out for collection, they can pose as a fire risk when going through the sorting process. All gas canisters should be taken to your local recycling site. Small canisters (camp stoves for example) can be disposed of for free, please speak to a member on-site about where to put them.
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Batteries: it is important that batteries are kept separate, never put in your refuse, as they could be crushed and cause a truck fire. Put them in a clear, tied bag and leave this on the top of your recycling.
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Vapes: disposable vapes can be recycled with small electricals. Put in an open bag alongside or on top of your recycling boxes. Reusable vapes can be recycled as small electricals and batteries.
In the coming weeks you will see a new tag being added to your bags or boxes. This red tag will provide a reminder of what to do with these items.
 Waste not Somerset is a Facebook group run by Somerset Council’s Waste Services team. The group is open to contributors and is a friendly space to encourage reuse, waste reduction and recycling initiatives in the community.
We want people to join in and share their tips, events and useful ideas. Why not join us?
The Somerset Waste Facebook page continues to be the hub of all service related information.
Image courtesy of Alupro
Why is choosing a drink in a can better than a glass or plastic bottle?
- Aluminium which is used for drinks cans and tins is infinitely recyclable (unlike plastic), it can be recycled again, and again ...and again!
- It’s much lighter than glass – meaning that transporting the items will cost less in fuel and carbon emissions.
- It doesn’t break as easily as a glass bottle.
- The aluminium that you recycle could be back on the shelf in as little as eight weeks!
This makes them the perfect container for our food and drinks, but this is only if they get recycled.
Tins and cans can be recycled with your household collection - just pop them in your blue bag. Where possible please crush to help make more space available in the collection trucks!
According to Alupro:
- 75% of all the aluminium ever produced is still in use.
- 82% of all aluminium drinks cans sold in the UK were recycled in 2021.
- 68% of all aluminium packaging sold in the UK was recycled in 2021.
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