Recycle Week celebrates success
The first Somerset Recycling Week starts today Monday September 26 to promote recycling across the county.
At more than 56%, Somerset’s recycling rate is higher than it has ever been, with improvements across the board in both the growing amounts residents recycle and the reduction in rubbish tonnages.
Of course, there is always more to do. So, until Sunday 2 October, Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) will be sharing information, highlighting progress and promoting top tips to help make great recycling part of Somerset’s vital DNA.
And today sees publication of the latest Somerset Recycling Tracker, showing how much families recycled, where it went, what it became and the carbon saved. Image above; details overleaf.
Find more Recycle Week advice and news at SWP’s dedicated web page somersetwaste.gov.uk/22recycle–week and at Facebook.com/somersetwaste.
Look out for new guidance on what and how to recycle, plus an online Talking Café Q&A on Wednesday 28 September, hosted by the Community Council for Somerset, all about your recycling: facebook.com/talkingcafesomerset.
Most Somerset people recycle. Do you?
SWP’s new Recycling Tracker report shows residents’ remarkable support for the expanded Recycle More collections.
The Recycling Tracker – full report:
somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycling–tracker
– monitors every tonne of your waste to identify location, firms and likely use. It shows that all recycling is recycled; none is burned, dumped or ends in the sea.
Somerset recycled and reused 149,980 tonnes with a recycling rate of 56.2% – a jump from 52.4% – and so saved 133,663 tonnes of carbon, and sent 108,428 tonnes of refuse to generate power and just 12,567 tonnes to landfill.
SWP and its contractors share a commitment that, if there is reprocessing capacity and demand here, all recycle materials will stay in the UK.
So 97.2% of your recycling stays here, including 99.4% of plastics, and 51.4% stays in Somerset. Most of the 2.8% exported is card and paper going to make cardboard boxes for our imports.
With a slight dip for glass bottles and jars, the figures show a rise in recycling for green waste, plastics, batteries, cans, food, card, electricals, paper and more.
Somerset’s impressive recycling rate puts it among the best for recycling, and among the very best for carbon saving. All due to the simple kerbside systems – no costly, messy single-bin recycling – that ensure low-contamination, high- quality materials that the market wants.
Where’s Fixy reuse van? Everywhere!
The Fixy reuse van is busy touring Somerset to promote reuse, support repair cafes, encourage volunteers, and collect smart tech to pass on. It will be at the Eat Burnham-on-Sea festival 10am- 4pm Saturday 22 October, while future repair cafes include those in Porlock, Chard, Glastonbury, Wootton Courtenay, Taunton and Ilminster. For more details of Fixy and Somerset repair cafes, go to: somersetwaste.gov.uk/fixy.
Recycle sites go to winter hours … All recycle sites switch to the winter timetable Saturday 1 October to Friday 31 March. Weekends stay 9am-4pm; weekdays when open are 9am-5pm.
More: somersetwaste.gov.uk/allatall.
… while Yeovil goes into reverse Yeovil Recycling Centre will reverse its traffic flow from Tuesday 27 September. Signage and staff will assist customers.
As the leaves begin to fall
You can start or restart a garden waste collection at any time for a full 25- collection 12-month service. Until 31 March 2023, a 180-litre bin service is
£57.20, and a 10-pack of 90-litre garden waste sacks is £28.30 via the “Garden waste” tab on the My Waste Services menu at somersetwaste.gov.uk.
