RECYCLING is set to soar in Sedgemoor and West Somerset with the arrival of Recycle More.

The expanded weekly recycling collections from Somerset Waste Partnership are due to launch to around 70,000 households in late February.

The timetable will be reviewed in January to take account of any impacts from the pandemic.

Where it can, Recycle More will be improving recycling for homes with shared or communal collections such as blocks of flats and homes of multiple occupancy.

Improvements for these properties will be brought in later in the year. What is possible will depend on space and access.

This is the final stage of the Recycle More roll-out, with the service already live in Mendip, South Somerset and Taunton Deane delivering hundreds of tonnes of extra recycling weekly.

Recycle More adds the following items to weekly recycling collections:

  • Plastic pots, tubs and trays;
  • Food and drink cartons;
  • Small batteries;
  • Small electrical items.

Extra weekly recycling means far less rubbish, so rubbish bins or black sacks will be collected every three weeks instead of two.

Collection days will change for many households.

Residents with kerbside collections will have a new recycling container – a ‘Bright Blue Bag’ - delivered shortly before the launch.

Residents will be sent information about Recycle More twice before the service starts, including a collection day calendar and guide to what goes into which container.

Mickey Green, SWP managing director, said: “We're really pleased with the way Recycle More has been received and the impact it is having.

“Almost all the recycling we collected last year stayed in the UK to be turned into new products and packaging. At a time when tackling climate change is high on the agenda, recycling more is something we can all do every day to help.

“It’s an important change and means everyone doing things a little differently, so it’s good to start thinking and preparing now by making sure you have all the necessary recycling containers and are making full use of the weekly collections.”

Everyone can have a green and a black recycling box, and food waste bin.

Extra support is available for anyone with concerns about Recycle More via somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycle-more - or check the leaflets coming through your door next month.

Garden and clinical waste collections will not change with Recycle More.