Recycling results are in!

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. Recycling 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.

Somerset’s recycling rate of 56% puts it in the top 20% of waste authorities in England, with the national average at 44%.

Other key figures include:

• 130,484 tonnes of carbon has been saved through recycling the materials collected at the kerbside and at recycling sites, equivalent to taking 50,000 cars off the road for a year.
• 21,106 tonnes of food waste was collected – all of which stays in Somerset, going to an anaerobic digestion plant to be turned into biofertilizer to be used on agricultural land and biogas.
• 48,463 tonnes of garden waste was collected – all of which stays in Somerset, going to Walpole, Dimmer and Priorswood to be composted, ready for use on gardens and farms.
• Somerset’s recycling rate is 56%, higher than England’s average of 43%.

Thank you for recycling!