Three-weekly collections of rubbish are set to be introduced across Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge within two years as part of a bid to increase the amount of waste that residents recycle.
Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) says it will start its new ‘Recycle More’ service at the same time, providing weekly kerbside recycling collections of extra items, including household and food plastic pots, tubs and trays, Tetra Paks and other drink cartons, small electrical items and household batteries.
With so many items being taken out of waste bins each week, the frequency of general rubbish collection will reduce to three weekly, says SWP.
“SWP’s research and very successful large-scale long-term trials in Somerset show that recycling these extra materials every week will leave far more space in resident’s rubbish bins, so these will then be collected every three weeks,” spokesman Nick Cater told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
The Mendip area of Somerset will be the first to see the change, from June 2020, and then Sedgemoor will follow within 18 months after that date.
Nick adds: “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 adds: “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 months away, we’ll share much more information nearer the time, but in the meantime the full details of Recycle More can be found online. We’re looking forward to delivering this in partnership with our new contractor, the experienced waste and recycling specialists SUEZ.”
Every home in Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge will be sent full details and dates for the new Recycle More service ahead of time.
Whatever is left as rubbish will soon no longer be landfilled in Somerset but instead be sent to a new energy-from-waste plant in Avonmouth to generate electricity.
The electricity from the energy-from-waste plant will power a plastics reprocessing plant next door that looks likely to take some if not all of Somerset’s plastic pots, tubs, trays and bottles.
Somerset Waste Board vice-chair Cllr Claire Paul added: “We remain committed to enabling Somerset residents to recycle as much as possible, and to ensuring that all our recycling is looked after properly – as demonstrated in SWP’s pioneering annual ‘Beyond the kerb – Recycling to Resources’ report, which tracks what happens and where to every tonne of recycling. With a change of this scale, it’s important we manage it carefully and support residents through this change.”
