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Sorted!
Waste news
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Somerset Council YouTube Short: Somerset's Recycling Tracker 2024
We recently published our latest recycling tracker and the results show that reuse is on the increase and landfill is at a record low.
This year we reused 2,300 tonnes, an increase of almost 400 tonnes. This includes smart tech collected via the Fixy project, furniture and bric-a-brac donated to furniture reuse groups and reusable textiles collected from the kerbside and via recycling sites.
Reusing items, for example, mobile phones, furniture or bicycles is more environmentally friendly than recycling. Reuse removes the need for items to be broken down, processed and made into something new.
The amount of waste going to landfill, 5,500 tonnes, is a record low for Somerset and nearly 96% of the 145,000 tonnes of recycling materials collected stayed in the UK (54% in Somerset), to be turned into new products and packaging.
Image courtesy of Barnet Council
Crews in Barnet had a shocking moment last week when the contents of a bin exploded from the back of the truck.
Sadly this is not an isolated incident and many crews across the country (including Somerset) have faced scary explosions when items such as batteries or gas canisters have been put in the bin.
Please never put gas canisters, batteries or aerosols in the rubbish bin. Help to keep everyone safe:
- Gas canisters, please take to a recycling site.
- Batteries, recycle at the kerbside. Place in a small, tied bag and leave on top of one of your recycling boxes.
- Aerosols, once empty should be recycled in your bright blue bag. Please note camping gas canisters cannot be put in the blue bag.
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 According to Hubbub, millions of pumpkins still go to waste each Halloween.
Pumpkins are meant to be eaten and far too often the scary truth is they end up in the food waste bin... or worse left out on the doorstep to rot.
Scare off food waste this Halloween
Did you know that carving pumpkins are edible? Better still, why not decorate instead of carve to make it last for longer! Here’s some no-carve inspiration courtesy of Hububb.
We’ll be celebrating International Repair Day on Saturday, 19 October alongside the newly formed Minehead Repair Café.
International Repair Day is an annual event celebrating everyone who makes repair happen in their communities around the world. Every October repair groups celebrate bringing communities together, reducing the impact on the planet and, learning new skills.
Minehead Repair Café will be opening their doors for their first repair event on Friday, 18 October - if you’re local why not join them? Gather up your no longer working items and head down.
Please note, Minehead Repair Café are unable to repair mobile phones, laptops, electric scooters, wheelchairs or large white goods.
Join them at: Sacred Heart, Townsend Road, Minehead, TA24 5RG, 10am to 12 noon. Fixy will also be supporting this event, and accepting donations of pre-loved smart tech.
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Keep your eyes peeled for this year's Recycle Week campaign promoted by Recycle Now. Recycle week runs from 14 to 20 October, and is a national celebration of the efforts of residents to recycle.
This year, the theme is ‘Rescue Me’, it highlights that nearly 8 out of 10 of us put one or more items into the bin that could have been recycled!
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This autumn, Fixy will be on the road and heading to events across Somerset.
Fixy accepts items including laptops, tablets, mobile phones and smart phones, smart watches, digital cameras, game consoles and accessories, hard drives, external disk drives, and routers, all including a power supply cable, AC adaptor and charger wherever possible.
If you're planning to visit your local recycling site, please remember that from today (Tuesday, 1 October), our 16 recycling sites have moved to 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. Sites return to summer opening hours in April.
For a list of all Somerset's sites including addresses, opening times and materials accepted, visit our Recycling centres webpage.
 Running low on washing up liquid, shampoo, conditioner, soap or many other everyday items, why not head to your local refill shop?
Refilling reduces waste like plastic packaging, supports local businesses and often the products you buy are better for the planet too. Somerset has many independently run refill shops. Check out our growing list of places to shop for eco-refills.
Just remember to save your jars, pots and bottles and take them along with you.
 On Sunday 27 October, the clocks go back 1 hour - a good excuse to check smoke detectors, batteries, bulbs, plugs and Christmas lights. All electrical items, low-energy bulbs and batteries can go to recycling sites.
With kerbside recycling, put out small electrical items in carrier-size bags, and household batteries in small clear bags.
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