December 2023

Latest news

Changes are coming to waste collection days next year

Last month we announced that collection days for rubbish and recycling will be changing for many households next year.

The changes will happen in two stages: starting in February for around 85% of homes. Covering the former Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton areas, and a small part of South Somerset.

The second stage begins in June (for the rest of the county), in the former Mendip and South Somerset areas.

Your Christmas collections wrapped up

Recycling and refuse collections will once again change over the festive period, please take note to make sure you don't miss your collections.

Recycling sites will be closed on bank holidays and open on their usual schedule outside of these days.

Reuse

Reduce waste at Christmas

If you’re feeling festive and planning for Christmas then we’ve pulled together all you need to know this Christmas-time to reduce waste and save money.

Make a meal of planning

Somerset is recycling more food waste than ever – but after Christmas food waste often rises - in January 2022 we saw an additional 22%. It’s good it’s being recycled, but cutting food waste altogether is even better for the environment.

Meal planning for the festive period means buying only what you need and eating all you buy. Planning ahead can also help to keep costs down – head to our website for ideas. Or visit the Love Food Hate Waste website for recipes and ideas for using up leftovers.

Cut the card to help the planet and the Somerset economy

Another way to reduce waste at Christmas is to think outside the box and avoid buying presents that need packaging. Each January the amount of cardboard collected rises, seeing as much as an extra 682 tonnes – a whopping 44% increase.

• Buy gifts that don’t need boxes – vouchers for restaurants, attractions or pampering treatments; subscriptions for a streaming service; or memberships for trusts or clubs.
• Go off-line – shop on the High Street and cut out the extra packaging that comes with online delivery.
• Shop on-line but local – local retailers can often deliver to your door and they tend to use less packaging than the big multi-nationals.

Will your wrapping paper pass the scrunch test?

As you prepare to get Christmas wrapped up, remember that once gifts have been given, recycle your wrapping paper.

Avoid wrapping paper with foil, plastic or glitter as this cannot be recycled.

Any paper wrapping you cannot reuse, remove sticky tape, bows and decorations – save bows, ribbons, string for birthday gifts and put it with card in your black recycle box.

Do not use a black rubbish sack to put out any wrapping paper you want recycled.

Not sure if it’s recyclable? Scrunch it!

Step 1: Scrunch the wrapping paper into a tight ball.

Step 2: Open your hand to see if the paper stays scrunched together or bounces back open.

Step 3: If the paper stays scrunched in a ball, then you know it can be recycled. If it bounces back open then it likely contain foil or plastic and it can’t be recycled.

Lots to recycle?

If you have a large load of wrapping paper, you can take it to any recycling site. Each will have a special drop-off point for wrapping paper; do not put it in the skips for card.

Get festive with Fixy

The Fixy van

Give the gift of unwanted smart tech to Fixy! We’re back on the road and will be at Eat Festival’s Christmas market in Taunton on Saturday 16 December, 10am to 4pm.

The Fixy team will be accepting donations of unwanted smart tech for reuse, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, digital cameras and other smart devices (see online for details) – data will be securely wiped by Donate IT before items are passed back into the community.

We’ll also be promoting the network of volunteer-run repair groups and opportunities to get involved. Find local community repair groups across Somerset on our web page Somerset’s Repair Network.

Yeovil recycling site

Fencing is currently being installed around the bays at Yeovil Recycling site. This means that during the next two weeks there will be a reduced number available.

Once installed, the new fencing will allow the site to stay open while the material in the containers is compacted. This will prevent queues and the need to close the site for safety when this happens.

Thank you for your patience while this work is carried out.

Get it sorted!

Share your thoughts on the fire prevention tag

Residents have recently had a fire safety tag added to their recycling bright blue bag.

Together with our collections contractor, SUEZ, we wanted to warn you about the dangers of putting certain fire-starting items such as camping gas canisters out with the recycling.

SUEZ staff have found a record number of gas canisters in the recycling collected from Somerset residents, with a staggering 2,500 found since May 2023. Each one of these could have started a fire. Crews are not allowed to rummage through bright blue bags at the kerbside in case they contain any broken glass which could harm them.

In the last year there have been six incidents of fires or small explosions in trucks and at depots. Although extra manual checks are done by keen eyed staff during the sorting process, each canister is a potential explosive fire risk when it gets to the depot.

Even though gas canisters pose a danger, aerosols like hair sprays and deodorants do not and can still be put in your bright blue bag – gas canisters have a higher pressure and contain more flammable gas which makes them a fire risk.

Gas canisters should be taken to any of our recycling sites, make sure to ask a member of site staff about where to put it.

We hope the tag will reduce the number of gas canisters in recycling and reduce fires on our sites. We would like to gather some feedback on the effectiveness of the tag – if you are happy to please let us know, by completing the survey.