Household Waste Recycling Centre Changes from 4th April 2011

Please find below and attached the latest information on the changes and charges Somerset Waste Partnerships is introducing at all Recycling Centres from 8am Monday, 4 April 2011, together with details of the fee starting at the same time at four Community Recycling Sites.

These changes were agreed by representatives of all districts councils and the county council to help SWP meet a funding reduction of £1.9 million required by Somerset County Council

Also below is advice on alternatives to using Recycling Centres that may help individuals save money and time.

Click here for a summary of the Recycling Centre timetables and charging figures suitable for printing out and adding to noticeboards.

Why are changes needed at Recycling Centres?

Somerset Waste Board, which represents all six councils in the county and governs the work of Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP), has agreed a range of changes affecting all 18 Recycling Centres that are being introduced from Monday 4 April 2011.

 
Representatives of all districts councils and the county council approved savings to help SWP meet a funding reduction of £1.9 million required by Somerset County Council.

 
The changes involve a £2 pay-per-use fee at four locations – Coleford, Crewkerne, Dulverton and Middlezoy – that switches their legal status to become Community Recycling Sites. 

The choice of an entry fee over closure was supported at consultations involving elected representatives from county, district, town and parish councils in each of the communities affected.

 
There will be new charges for items not legally defined as household waste – gas bottles, rubble, soil and tyres – at all 18 Recycling Centres and Community Recycling Sites. See over for details.

 
All Recycling Centres and Community Recycling Sites are to open 40 hours a week year-round, with each shut two days a week on a staggered rota so there is always an alternative open.

 
For more information:

- check our website: www.somersetwaste.gov.uk

- email: enquiries@somersetwaste.gov.uk

- call: Somerset Direct 0845 345 9188.

To offer feedback about how Somerset Waste Partnership is making changes to reduce costs, please contact us by:

- email: enquiries@somersetwaste.gov.uk

- call: Somerset Waste Partnership on 01823 625700.

  
Alternatives to using Recycling Centres

 
There are many ways to reduce your use of Recycling Centres and Community Recycling Sites.

•  Hiring skips or services like Hippobag are an alternative for DIY work producing rubble or soil.
•  Garages and tyre fitters usually take worn tyres for a fee to cover their disposal costs.
•  Empty gas bottles can usually be returned to the supplier who sold it or another supplier for reuse.

Throughout the county, except for West Somerset, suitable homes can put out the following items in kerbside recycling collections (and should not place them in their rubbish bin or black sacks): food waste, paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, steel and aluminium cans, household plastic bottles, aluminium foil (bagged), clothes (bagged), shoes (tied in pairs and bagged), car batteries.

We provide paid-for fortnightly garden waste collections and paid-for bulky waste collections – contact your district customer services.

Somerset’s reuse network will accept donated furniture, electrical items and other household items, if in working order and good condition, and may be able to collect from your home.

Charity shops take clothes, books, furniture and many other goods, while Freecycle and similar online groups can be used to dispose of a wide range of items.