Recycling is easy and rewarding in South Somerset
Recycling is easy and rewarding in South Somerset, from
convenient kerbside collections for a dozen materials to the
savings easily made to keep council tax bills down while
maintaining local services.
Recycling
more not only helps you waste less but it really does save money.
It diverts materials away from costly and polluting landfill, each
tonne of which adds £100 or more to Somerset's £12 million bill for
putting waste into carefully designed holes in its
countryside.
And every
tonne of dry recyclable items - from bottles and cans to paper and
card - means almost £55 extra in recycling credits supporting vital
local services run by South Somerset District Council.
If any
recycling container or waste bin is missing or damaged, contact
South Somerset District Council customer services on 01935 462462
or ssdc@southsomerset.gov.uk, or order them online.
To ensure
that everything possible is recycled, get to know what can go in
your kerbside boxes; for full details, see www.somersetwaste.gov.uk.
Sadly,
half the average rubbish bin is materials that could be easily and
conveniently recycled in every family's kerbside containers, while
another 10% or more could go to a recycling site.
It's time
to make a real difference by recycling more, wasting less and
saving money.
Collection Days:
Missed a collection?
Refuse, recycling or food waste must be put out for collection
by 7am on the correct day. If it has been missed, we will aim to
collect it within two working days of you having reported it to
us.
Waste and Recycling Containers
There are a range of waste and recycling containers available
for you to use at your address. If any containers are missing from
your address you can request them.
Composting your waste
On average, about a third of the contents of your household
waste can easily be composted, rather than sending it to landfill
sites.
Adverse weather
If there is severe weather affecting collections further
information is available at:
Recycling - your weekly kerbside recycling service
Sort It Plus is the weekly kerbside
recycling collection allowing a range of items to be collected from
the kerbside at your home:
Recycling centres - (Somerset County Council)
Recycling Centres are run and funded by Somerset County Council.
To find your nearest recycling centre, please go to the Somerset
Waste Partnership website.
Assisted collection
The assisted collection service is available if you are
physically unable to place your waste or recycling containers at
the kerbside which is the normal place for collection. You should
also have no other assistance available to help you.
Bulky waste collection
The Somerset Waste Partnership operates a bulky waste collection
service for household items. There is a charge of £43.00 for up to
three items and £11.90 for each extra item payable prior to
collection. There is a limit of five items that can be collected
per visit.
The bulky waste collection service includes fridges/freezers,
cookers, tables, chairs, three-piece suites, beds, wardrobes and
other similar items. Items such as rubble/radiators/kitchen
cupboards are classified as builder's waste and will therefore not
be collected.
To request a bulky waste collection,
please call 01935 462462
Other Options:
If you have good quality furniture or an appliance suitable for
reuse, see Somerset Waste Partnership's Furniture
Reuse for details of how to donate items to local groups, who
may be able to collect these items from you (often for free).
Large or bulky items can also be taken to Recycling
Centres
Hazardous waste (Including Asbestos)
Hazardous waste such as paints, batteries, oils, television sets
and asbestos, must be disposed of at properly managed waste
facilities.
Find your nearest recycling centre for hazardous
waste
Find out more
about Asbestos.
Commercial Waste Collections
It is not permitted to put business waste into the domestic
wheelie bins, recycling containers or recycling centres, all of
which are paid for by domestic council tax payers. Business waste
must stored and disposed of responsibly, handled only by people
that are authorised to do so and will deliver your waste to a
licensed site. Records of all transferred waste must be kept for at
least two years.
Further information on commercial collections is available at
the Somerset Waste Partnership website (this includes a list of
companies providing the service):
Somerset Waste
Partnership (SW) - business pages
Your Waste Duty of Care
Each individual and business has a duty of care over their
waste, even after it has left your home or premises, and failure to
take reasonable steps to do this risks prosecution and a £5,000
fine.
And if you or your business pay someone to take your waste away
- man-with-a-van, builders, gardeners or other tradespeople - it is
important to check if they have a waste carrier's licence.
Ask to see the original licence, not a copy, ensure you know
where your waste will go, and keep a record of the person or
business taking the waste and their vehicle. This is an important
step to deter and prevent the environmental crime of
fly-tipping.
Somerset Waste Partnership
Waste collection and recycling in Somerset is managed by Somerset Waste Partnership
(SWP), on behalf of all of the district councils.
District councils are responsible for waste collection (such as
kerbside recycling, emptying of household wheelie bins, collection
of black bags etc) whilst the county council (Somerset County
Council) is responsible for waste disposal, such as Household Waste Recycling
Centres, landfill sites and more.
Please use the following weblink to view the latest Somerset
Waste Board Forward Plan of planned key decisions published on the
Council's website today.
Cabinet Forward
Plan
Please note the change to the layout of the Forward Plans due to
the new Access to Information Regulations recently published by the
Government. The Forward Plan is now being published on a weekly
basis rather than every month.
The next meeting of the Somerset Waste Board will be held at
10.00am on Friday 22 February in the Luttrell Room, County Hall.
The agenda and papers will be published on 14 February:
Somerset Waste
Board - Agendas and Minutes