May 2025

Latest news

Updates to your collections this May

Following the bank holiday yesterday (5 May), all recycling and rubbish collections will move back by a day for the rest of the week.

If your recycling and/or rubbish is usually collected on a Monday, then it will be collected on Tuesday (today), if your usual day is Tuesday it will be collected on Wednesday and so on.

This includes collections that would usually take place on Friday, 9 May taking place on Saturday, 10 May.

The same will happen at the end of the month following the bank holiday on Monday, 26 May. You can check your collection day at any time online.

With waste collections a day later, a higher volume of waste is likely. Squashing, crushing and flattening waste can help to reduce the number of trips that teams need to make to empty their trucks, as well as creating more space in your boxes, bins and bags.

All 16 recycling sites will be open as usual at weekends, 9am to 4pm. And, if opening on a Monday is part of their normal opening pattern, they will be open on Bank Holiday Monday from 9am to 6pm. For opening times and to find a full list of what can be recycled head to our recycling sites webpage.

Fixy is runner up for second consecutive year for innovation in reuse

Resource Futures, Somerset Council, and SUEZ recycling and recovery UK were once again shortlisted for an Award for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management thanks to the continued success of The Fixy Project, a mobile initiative tackling e-waste through reuse, repair, and redistribution.

Nominated for the second year running in the ‘Reuse Initiative of the Year’ category, Fixy was recognised for its creative, community-driven approach to raising awareness of, and driving activities around, the reuse, repair and redistribution of electrical items.

The nomination recognises the impact Fixy has had since it began in 2022. The team have helped to save more than 5,400 electrical items from the bin, providing refurbished and redistributed devices to those in digital poverty in partnership with DonateIT.

Somerset Council backs campaign to reduce fires with recycling collections

Cllr Richard Wilkins, Lead Member for Transport and Waste

We’ve backed the Environment Services Association’s (ESA) call to Government to implement universal kerbside collections for waste batteries and small electricals at the kerbside.

The ESA have recommended that universal kerbside collections for waste batteries and electricals should be implemented, much like the service provided in Somerset. If this was to be rolled out across the UK, £6bn could be saved over the next decade by increasing recycling and avoiding the costs associated with waste fires.

Somerset rises to top 10% in recycling league tables

The latest recycling league tables, published by DEFRA have revealed that Somerset has secured a place in the top 10%. This remarkable achievement highlights the dedication and efforts of Somerset residents in doing the right thing and recycling as much waste as possible.

In the latest league tables, South Oxfordshire tops the charts with an impressive recycling rate of 62.9%. Somerset, with a commendable recycling rate of 56%, has secured the 31st position out of 321 local authorities and ranks 7th out of 97 unitary authorities.

Somerset's 'Recycle More' scheme has played a pivotal role in enhancing our recycling rates, and we are proud to see resident's commitment to recycling reflected in these league tables. Although a great result, we know there’s always more that can be done to reduce waste and recycle more. Did you know that around half of what’s in our bins could have been recycled? Remember, every small change helps!

Reuse

Spring clear-out? Think, pass it on!

Recycling is great, but reducing and reusing waste is even better.

If you’re planning a spring clean, don’t forget to check to see if your items could be used again. Your pre-loved items could be another’s treasure and by passing your things on you’re helping to reduce waste.

It’s simple to pass them on and there are several Somerset-based furniture reuse groups where you can donate furniture and white goods. Charities will often collect items for free, so long as they are of good condition and in working order and have the relevant fire safety tags in place.

You could even earn a few pounds from your old items. Online platforms such as Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace or eBay are a great place to start if you are looking to sell your no-longer used things.

If you want your item to be collected from home – or it’s no longer in a useable condition – you can arrange for a bulky or large item collection with us.

We're working in partnership with the British Heart Foundation to reuse bulky waste items where possible, so we now ask you to confirm if you believe the item(s) are reusable.

Our bulky collection service costs £79.50 for up to 3 items, and an extra £20 for each additional item after that, with a maximum limit of 5 items per collection.

Items that are not in a useable condition will be recycled where possible. If they can’t be recycled they'll be taken to an energy from waste plant. A small number of very large items will go to landfill.

To book a collection, use our online bulky waste request form.

Have yourself a sustainable Somerset Day!

Did you hear that Somerset Day is 11 May! And this year it’s being celebrated across the weekend from 10 – 11 May.

The Big Picnic returns to celebrate community, food and fun indoors or outdoors in 2025.

Will you be joining the The Big Somerset Picnic? It's a day to celebrate our county, raise funds for local causes and enjoy great Somerset produce.

Whether you’re gathering in your local hall, a community space, or hosting a garden party at home, this is your chance to come together and celebrate Somerset Day in style.

Fixy on the road

There’s still time to donate your unwanted smart tech to Fixy! This month Fixy will be visiting:

Please bring along your old and unused tech, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, digital cameras and other smart devices (see online for full list) – data will be securely wiped and refurbished by DonateIT before items are gifted back into the community.

Get it sorted!

Why we ask you to sort your recycling

Sorting your recycling into different boxes for kerbside collection is a simple way to make a positive impact on our community and environment. Here’s why we ask you to sort your recycling and the benefits it brings:

Better quality recycling: When you sort your recycling into the correct boxes or bags, it helps us produce better-sorted materials with less contamination. This is compared to using a wheelie bin for mixed recyclable materials, which are more likely to have the wrong things hidden, or thrown in. Our pre-sorted recycling is more valuable and in higher demand from UK re-processors. By keeping our recycling clean and sorted, we can make sure that more of it stays in the UK and is turned into new products or packaging.

Environmental benefits: Sorting your recycling helps us recycle more, and do this closer to home. Properly sorted materials are easier to process and recycle, reducing the need for shipping recycling long distances. This not only protects resources but also reduces the carbon footprint associated with transporting materials.

Financial savings: By reducing contamination and improving the quality of our recycling, we can save money. Clean, sorted recycling is more valuable and cheaper to process.

What do we mean by contamination in recycling?

Contamination in our recycling is when an item that we can’t recycle, dirty packaging or hazardous items are put in the recycling boxes for collection.

Non-recyclable items, or materials in the wrong boxes can delay collections and make some loads un-recyclable. Recycling reprocessors can’t recycle heavily soiled packaging, but a quick rinse is usually all that is needed to make it recyclable.

For more information on how to sort your recycling and what items go into each container, please visit our Recycling Collections page online.