February 2024

Latest news

Changes to waste collections - check if you have a one-off collection of rubbish

The new collection schedules start next week (from 12 February) and that means a change in collection days for many homes in the former Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton areas and parts of South Somerset.

If your collection days are changing, you should have received a letter followed by a service guide by now – but if you’re not sure you can look-up whether your collections are affected.

Important to note

Some households may also have a one-off extra collection of rubbish (so that no one goes too long between collections, where their rubbish bin collection schedule has changed).

Residents in the towns listed in the 'read more' section should check if they have an extra rubbish collection. Not every household in the towns and villages will have an extra collection, but some will.

Free disposal of DIY waste at recycling sites

In January’s edition of Sorted we told you about the new rules around disposing of DIY waste at our recycling sites. Here’s a reminder of what you need to do – remember you must book ahead before bringing this material.  

Following a change in the law, charges for disposing of construction and demolition materials from household DIY projects have been removed.

The materials you can dispose of for free include: asbestos, plasterboard, hardcore and rubble – although there is a limit to the amount you can bring for free.

The DIY waste must have been produced by you (the householder) in your own home. You now also need to book visits in advance – including for rubble which was previously chargeable.

Reuse

Join a Waste Not Somerset: Reusable personal care event this February

Are you curious about reusable personal care products? Did you know that you could reduce plastic waste and save money by ditching the disposables?

The average women uses over 11,000 disposable menstrual products in their lifetime and the average baby more than 4,000 nappies by the time they are potty trained.

There are lots of options when it comes to choosing to reuse – and often they are cheaper, easier to use and better for the environment.

Why not join us at one of our events to find out more about making the switch?

About 2.5% of the contents of Somerset’s rubbish bins are hygiene products (including incontinence and period products) and a further 11% of the rubbish in our bins is nappies.

We’ve joined forces with, SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK and Moonie (who hand-make reusable period products), to promote the benefits of switching to reusable personal care products.

Join us to find out more about making the swap.

We’ll be at the following libraires, 10am to 2pm:

Learn about the advantages of using reusable period pads, nappies and incontinence products which can have a positive impact on both the environment and your wallet. Everyone is welcome.

Have a flippin’ good pancake day

Pancake day is just around the corner, a time to make the most of what’s in your cupboards. However, according to Too Good to Go 17 million pancakes are thrown out in the UK on pancake day!

Follow simple steps to enjoy a tasty, waste-less pancake day:

• Top them with things that need using up – from a squeeze of lemon to tuna or fruit, pancakes can be versatile!
• Save your leftover pancakes - you can freeze cooked pancakes (or the uncooked batter). Layer cooked pancakes between sheets of baking paper and pop them in a freezer-proof container, or seal them in a reusable freezer bag. Before freezing uncooked batter, divide into portions so you can defrost only what you need later.
• Plan to use up any leftover toppings you may have bought for your pancakes

If you really can’t use everything up or save it for another day – make sure to put leftovers – and scraps like eggshells – in the brown food waste recycling bin.

Get it sorted!

Have you heard about Community Action Groups?

A Community Action Group (or CAG) is a term for the many independent community groups which contribute to shared environmental and social goals of the Community Action Group Network.

CAG Somerset is a new network providing free support to local community groups who focus on reuse, repair, waste reduction, sharing, surplus food or composting. From repair cafes and community fridges to groups who run swapping and sharing events, the network already supports a number of inspiring Somerset-based community groups!

Together, CAG network members are improving sustainability in their local areas, and they would love for you to get involved! CAG Somerset offers a number of network benefits including free training, support with basic governance, help with funding and they encourage skill sharing and peer-to-peer learning among groups.

The network welcomes groups of any size and they'll work with you to help your community group flourish and achieve its goals. Ideas, concepts or plans are also welcome, so please do contact them as they'd love to support you on your development journey!

For more information, visit cagsomerset.org.uk and subscribe to their newsletter to be kept up to date on all things CAG Somerset.

Shocking stats on unused electricals

Credit: Material Focus / Recycle your Electricals

Material Focus, the organisation behind the Recycle your Electricals campaign, recently revealed that the average UK household has 31 unused electrical items hidden at home.

Their research shows that households could bank between £1,300 and £6,330 by reselling unused tech. However, 1-in-5 adults hold onto unused electricals because they’re worried about deleting and transferring data properly.

If you’re considering passing your old smart tech on then take a look at the advice from Recycle Your Electricals which provide step by step instructions to help put your mind at ease when erasing your data.

But it’s not just smart tech gathering dust in our cupboards. Electrical items contain materials including copper, gold and aluminium. When you recycle your items it means these materials can be used again. All electrical items should be recycled when they are no longer fit for purpose.

Don’t forget, you can recycle small electricals – including cables and chargers – at the kerbside. Just bag them up and leave with your weekly recycling collection. Larger items can be taken to one of our recycling sites.

If you’d like to donate your old smart tech, rather than sell it, then you can donate it to the Fixy Project. The Fixy team work with Donate IT who securely data wipe devices, make repairs (if needed), then pass them back into the community to help address the digital divide.