Mendip will be the first area in Somerset to have the new Recycle More service from June 2020, Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) has announced.
The new kerbside collections will see a wide range of extra materials added to weekly recycling collections: household and food plastic pots, tubs and trays, Tetra Paks and other beverage cartons, small electrical items and household batteries.
As with all other new kerbside services introduced by SWP, the new service will roll out to other parts of Somerset over the following 18 months. Timing details will be released later, with every home in Somerset sent full details of the new service and their starting date well ahead of time.
SWP’s large-scale long-term trials in Somerset show that recycling these extra materials every week will leave far more space in residents’ rubbish bins, so these will then be collected every three weeks.
The trials showed that Recycle More will see recycling rates jump, rubbish tonnages fall, and very few difficulties, all of which SWP will solve by offering extra help and support. The simplicity and effectiveness of Recycle More proved so popular among those who took part in the trials that they gave it an 86% approval rating.
SWP managing director Mickey Green said, “Our new Recycle More service will enable people not only to recycle a wider range of plastic at the kerbside every week, but also Tetra Paks and other beverage cartons, small electrical items and batteries. Combined with our move away from landfill for the little waste that can’t be recycled, this will further improve Somerset’s already impressive environmental performance. With more plastic pots, tubs and trays being taken to our 16 recycling sites than ever before, we know that public appetite to be able to recycle more remains strong.
“With these changes still seven months away, we’ll share much more information nearer the time, but in the meantime the full details of Recycle More can be found on our website. We’re looking forward to delivering this in partnership with our new contractor, the experienced waste and recycling specialists SUEZ.”
For more details visit www.somerset waste.gov.uk/recycle-more/
