Around 35,000 Bright Blue Bags have been delivered across Sedgemoor and West Somerset ahead of the launch of Recycle More at the end of the month.
A similar number are scheduled for delivery this week as Somerset Waste Partnership prepares to introduce the expanded recycling collections.
If your bag has not arrived yet, please be patient as our teams work their way across the area following recycling crews.
Bags will be delivered throughout this week and into next week if needed, with stickers applied to recycling boxes at the same time to show what goes where with the new service.
Recycle More launches from Monday 28 February, adding extra items to weekly recycling collections with rubbish collections moving to once every three weeks.
Please DO NOT put the Bright Blue Bags out for collection until your first new collection day. This is made clear in residents’ “Recycle More is coming soon” leaflet – on the cover and in the all-important collection day calendar.
The calendar shows your recycling and rubbish collections for the next 12 months. Two-thirds of homes will have a change of day, so it is important to check and hold on to it for future reference.
Some households will have a one-off, extra Saturday rubbish collection on 26 February or 5 March, to make sure they do not go more than three weeks between rubbish collections.
Where this applies, it will be made clear on the cover of the leaflet and on the calendar.
Around 7,000 homes will get the Saturday 26 February collection, including some households in Burnham-on-Sea, Highbridge, Middlezoy, Othery, Westonzoyland.
Another 5,000 will get the 5 March collection including some (not all) households in Cannington, Cheddar, Shipham, Highbridge and West Huntspill.
This is not a definitive list of locations so please make sure you check your leaflet.
Recycle More adds the following to weekly collections: plastic pots, tubs and trays; food and drink cartons, small household electrical items and batteries.
What goes into which container will change:
- Green box – glass bottles and jars, and cartons (including Tetra Pak)
- Black box – paper and card
- Brown food waste bin – all food waste
The Bright Blue Bag should be used for:
- Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays (rinsed and squashed/nested)
- Tins and cans (rinsed and crushed if safe to do so)
- Aerosols (empty)
- Foil (rinsed)
With Recycle More, SWP will also improve recycling for homes with shared or communal collections, for example blocks of flats and homes of multiple occupancy.
These improvements are scheduled for late June or early July, though what is possible will depend on space and access at each site.
Visit somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycle-more for more information. Extra guidance and support can be requested using a form on this page, or by calling your district council.
SWP is hosting Facebook Q&A Days about the new service. The next two take place on Friday 18 February and Wednesday 16 March, running from 7am to 7pm.
Visit @somersetwaste and post questions as comments once the session has started.
Where it can, Recycle More will also improve recycling for homes with shared or communal collections, for example blocks of flats and homes of multiple occupancy.
These improvements are scheduled for late June or early July and what is possible will depend on space and access.