Refuse and Recycling Collections
Please see the following
background information for the current refuse and recycling
arrangements.
Mendip District Council currently collects
glass bottles and jars, newspaper, magazines and paper, aluminium foil, food
and drinks cans, shoes, textiles, yellow pages and car batteries via the
kerbside recycling scheme.
The Service
Residents will receive a weekly
kerbside recycling service accompanied by a separate weekly collection of food
waste. In addition to this residents are able to hire a wheeled bin for garden
waste for £25 per year, which is collected once a fortnight, or they can
purchase garden waste sacks for £10 for 10 including collection. Residual
refuse, i.e. those materials that we cannot currently recycle, will now be collected
fortnightly. The new service will change the emphasis from waste disposal to
recycling and continues to give three collections a fortnight.
Why collect food waste?
Recently the SWP carried out a ‘waste
analysis’ to see what people put out in their refuse bins. Kitchen food waste
made up the largest fraction: 28% of all refuse by weight. This resource is
composted and turned into a useful soil conditioner. New legislation has also
been recently introduced which requires local authorities to reduce the amount
of biodegradable material being sent to landfill over the next 6 years. If
biodegradable materials such as food waste and garden waste are sent to
landfill they decompose without air and produce methane, which is not only
dangerous, but also an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
Why collect recycling weekly and refuse fortnightly?
In order to meet recycling targets we
need to make recycling a priority and only put into the residual bin those
materials that cannot be recycled. With these additional recycling services,
there will be less refuse to collect, and the weekly food waste collection will
ensure that the remaining residual waste will not smell.
What is going to happen?
Most residents will receive two food
waste containers, a small caddy (4.5 litre) to go in the kitchen and a larger
container (25 litre) to present the food waste at the kerbside on the day of
collection. You can line your food caddies with a thin layer of newspaper – the
newspaper is compostable and the collection crew will empty the food waste and
newspaper from your container. Liners for the small food waste caddy will also
be available in local shops (50 for £3.99). Please note that food waste can’t
be collected if placed in plastic bags. Even biodegradable plastic bags can’t be
accepted as most types take too long to break down in the composting process.
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Same Day Collections |
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Week
1
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Week 2 |
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Dry Recycling (i.e.Paper, glass & cans) |
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Food Waste |
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Garden Waste |
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Residual Refuse |
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When will the scheme operate?
Food
waste containers and black recycling boxes are collected every week. Refuse and
garden waste are collected every other week, alternating residual refuse one
week and garden waste the other. You will receive a leaflet with a calendar
when your food waste containers are delivered. This will set out what materials
will go into each container, and when to put out each type of container for
collection. All collections for recycling, composting and refuse will be on the
same day – your collection day will
be set out in the calendar delivered with you food waste containers.
What materials can I put out for collection?
Food Waste Caddy: Raw and cooked meat & bones Raw and cooked fish & bones Raw and cooked vegetables Vegetable peelings. Bread & bakery products Tea bags & coffee grounds. Egg shells. Glass bottles and jars Aluminium Foil Any paper e.g. Newspapers, Magazines Food and drinks cans including aerosol cans Shoes Textiles Yellow Pages Car batteries Garden
Waste Wheeled bin:
Flower and plant waste
Grass
cuttings
Leaves
and bark
Prunings
Hedge
trimmings Please
do not use this service to dispose of branches
or tree trunks. Where do I put the Food Waste Caddy and Garden Waste
Bin for collection? Mendip District Council provide
a kerbside collection service please place your containers on the kerbside
adjacent to your property. Frequently Asked Questions 1.
What can I put in the food caddy? Cooked and uncooked food Fruit and Vegetables Meat and Fish Cooked food leftovers Bread, pasta, cereal Tea bags and coffee grounds Dairy products and egg
shells 2.
Can I wrap the food up? Yes – but only in
newspaper. 3.
Can I buy liners for the caddy? Corn starch are available
to buy through local shops at a cost of £3.99 for a pack of 50 liners. 4.
What do I do if the caddy is not big enough to take
all my food waste? We can only take food
waste contained in a foodwaste caddy. Please contact Mendip Customer Services
and request an additional 25 litre caddy if this is a regular issue. 5.
When and where do I put my Food Waste caddy out for
collection? Mendip District Council
provides a kerbside collection service please place your containers on the
kerbside adjacent to your property by 7am on the day of collection or the night
before the collection day at the earliest. 6.
I have help to move my bin and recycling box, can I
have help with the food waste caddy? Yes. Mendip District
Council is happy to provide an assisted collection for any of the refuse and
recycling services offered to those people who are in genuine need. 7.
Why should I use the service? In 2002 the Somerset Waste
Partnership carried out a ‘waste analysis’ to see what people put out in their
refuse bin. Food waste made up the largest fraction: 28% of all refuse. This
resource can be composted and turned into a useful soil conditioner. New
legislation has also been recently introduced that will also require local
authorities to reduce the amount of biodegradable material being sent to
landfill over the next 6 years. 8.
Where does the Food Waste go after collection? The food waste goes to a
newly built facility at Dimmer, near Castle Cary. The Food Waste is be
processed ‘in-vessel’ – which involves being heat treated for 2 weeks and then
windrow composted for a further 10 weeks. 9.
What will happen if I choose not to use the food
waste service? Your residual bin will be
collected once a fortnight from now on. Extra waste that will not fit in the
wheeled bin will not be collected (except around Christmas). Putting food waste
in your residual bin will create odour and take up unnecessary space in your
wheeled bin. The food waste collection will be every week. You will have a
small caddy which can go in your kitchen and can be emptied regularly into the
larger kerbside caddy. 10.
How often do I put out the caddy for collection? Every week – on the same
day as your dry recyclables 11.
What time should I put out the caddy? By 7am on the day of collection.
At the earliest the night before the collection day. 1.
What do I put in the Garden waste bin or sacks? Flower
and plants Grass
cuttings Leaves
and bark Prunings Hedge
trimmings Branches
(less than 100mm or 4 inches in diameter only) Straw
or sawdust (if bedding materials, only from vegetarian animals) 2.
Why can’t I put raw & cooked food into the Garden
waste bin or sacks? The process we will use
for treating the garden waste is different to the process used to treat the
food waste. The Animal By-products Order requires food waste to be composted
under very strict conditions. This requires heat treatment to kill off any
harmful bacteria and prevent the potential spread of disease. Food waste mixed
with the garden waste will mean that it cannot be composted. Use your food
waste container for your food waste only. 3.
Why do I have to pay for this service? The council is not
required to collect garden waste. Not
every home has a garden, so it is not equitable for every home to pay towards the
collection of garden waste. We will continue to encourage residents to home
compost – those that do may well not need to also use the charged for garden
waste service. A
discounted offer for home composters is currently available from Mendip
District Council. Please contact Mendip Customer Services on 01749 648999 for
more information and an order form. 4.
How much will the Garden Waste service cost? £25 per year to hire the
bin and receive 26 collections over the year or £10 for 10 garden waste sacks. 5.
How do I order a Garden waste bin or sacks? By
phoning Mendip Customer Services on 01749 648999 from December 1st onwards. You
can make payment by credit or debit card or by cheque. Garden waste brown bins
will be delivered from the middle of January onwards. Please be aware that if
there is a high demand for this service there may be some delay in the delivery
of your garden waste sacks or bins. 6.
Where does the Garden Waste go after collection? Wyvern Waste at Dimmer, near
Castle Cary. The Garden Waste will be processed by windrow composting – this does not involve being heat treated. 7.
Do I have to have a wheeled bin or can I use sacks? We would prefer you to have
a wheeled bin as this is easier and safer to collect. However, if you really
cannot use a wheeled bin for access reasons we will offer a charged for sack
collection. You can order a brown bin,
at a cost of £25 per year, by calling Mendip Customer Services on 01749 648999.
Alternatively you can order garden waste sacks, at a cost of £10 for 10. 1. What
materials can I put in the recycling box? Glass bottles and jars Aluminium Foil Any paper e.g. Newspapers,
Magazines and junk mail Food and drinks cans
including aerosol cans Shoes Textiles (Clothes) Yellow Pages Car batteries 2. How often can I put out my recycling box? Every week. 3. What time should I put out the recycling box? By 7am on the day of
collection or at the earliest, the night before. 4. I do not have a recycling box, where can I get one
from? Please contact Mendip
Customer Services to request a recycling box, there is no charge for the
recycling box. 1. Why will this no longer be collected weekly? To meet the recycling
targets we need to make recycling a priority and only put into the residual bin
materials that cannot be recycled. With the additional recycling services,
there should be a lot less refuse to collect and the weekly food waste collection
will ensure that the remaining residual waste will not smell. From now on the Household
Waste collection services offered by Mendip District Council will focus on
recycling and waste minimisation. The government requires us to do this, we
need you to help. Sorting waste makes it easier to recycle. This will become
increasingly important in keeping the cost of providing waste collection and
disposal as low as possible. 2. What happens if I have more residual waste over a
fortnight than I can fit in my wheeled bin? Mendip District Council
has a policy to only collect waste contained with in the wheeled bin, any
additional waste that can not be recycled or composted can be taken to one of
the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) located across Mendip at no
charge. You can take additional household waste to one of the HWRCs but when
you get there you will be asked to separate your waste out for recycling. The
HWRC staff cannot insist that you separate your waste – but clearly it would be
good practice to present as much material separated for recycling as you can. 3. Why don’t you collect plastic in the kerbside box? Due
to the various different types/grades and lightness of plastic and its bulk, a
large number of vehicles are required to collect a low tonnage of material.
This high volume of material would significantly increase the costs of kerbside
collections. In addition, with the majority of re-processors in the country
being located in the North East, this adds to transport costs which can set the
collection of material against the Best Practical Environmental Option. However
it is possible to take plastic bottles to Household Waste Recycling Centres
(HWRC). The HWRCs can be found at the following locations: We
will also be providing banks in local car parks where possible. 4. Why don’t you collect cardboard in the kerbside
box? Cardboard
has a relatively low resale value compared with other dry recyclables, and is
also of high volume. We have focused on collecting materials of higher value
and lower volume in our kerbside boxes to date. Cardboard is taken at the
Household Waste Recycling Centres. 5. What if I don’t want to sort my household waste? From
now on the Household Waste collection services offered by Mendip District
Council will focus on recycling and waste minimisation. The government requires
us to do this and we need you to help. Sorting waste makes it easier to
recycle. This will become increasingly important in keeping the cost of
providing waste collection and disposal as low as possible. From April 2005
Mendip District Council has had a limit imposed on the amount of refuse that
they are allowed to landfill. If this limit is exceeded Mendip District Council
will be fined £150.00 per tonne of excess refuse. This fine is on top of the
cost of collecting and disposing of the refuse. This increased cost would have
to be met with an increase in council tax, so it is very important that we
reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. If you do not want to sort your
household waste, you may find that you will not have enough room for your waste
in your wheeled bin. As extra waste will not be collected you will have to take
it to your HWRC for disposal. 6. I currently receive assistance with the refuse and
kerbside service, will this continue? Mendip District Council is
happy to provide an assisted collection for any of the refuse and recycling
services offered to those people who are in genuine need. Please contact
Customer Services on 01749 648999. 7. I will have difficulty complying with your
collection requirements? If you feel that you are
unable to comply with our requirements then please contact Mendip Customer
Services on 01749 648999.
Recycling Box:
Please put ONLY THESE items in your food
caddy