Three weekly waste collections

Changes are coming to recycling and waste collections in North Somerset this year.

For most households, a new recycling bag will be introduced, a wider range of recycling materials will be collected every week and black bin collections will switch from fortnightly to three-weekly. A brand new North Somerset Council app will also launch to make recycling even easier.

Most people's collection day will change to improve the efficiency of collections, reduce carbon emissions and improve reliability of the service.  

Additional support is available for anyone who will struggle with the changes.

Red bag

Following a successful trial with 6,000 households, a new 90-litre reusable red bag for recycling household plastic and metal packaging will start being delivered to households from the end of March. You can use this red bag for your recycling straight away. 

The bag has the following benefits:

• it provides extra space for more recycling
• is weighted to stop it blowing away 
• is bigger than recycling boxes (90 litres compared with your 55-litre box)
• secures with a Velcro strip across the top to prevent litter

This will make recycling much easier. Plastic and cans go in the new red bag, with paper and cardboard in one recycling box and glass in the other box. There's no need to sort different materials in the same box, plus there's extra space for more recycling.

Full instructions will be included in a leaflet inside your bag. 

More materials collected for recycling

The vehicles used for recycling are being updated later this year to provide additional space for collecting a wider range of materials. There will be larger compartments for collecting batteries, clothes, small electrical items and vapes.

The new vehicles will also have a dedicated space to collect plastic bags and wrapping, such as crisp packets, film lids, pet food pouches and vegetable wrapping, which make up 10 per cent of black bin contents. 

We will be the first council in the country to collect these items from homes as part of a weekly recycling service.

The additional items for recycling can start being presented when the household switches to three-weekly black bin collections later this year. Everyone will be notified before these changes begin.

Three-weekly waste collections

Following an extensive public consultation last year, most people's black bin collections will switch to three-weekly later this year.

This will be for the majority of households in North Somerset. Properties where collection frequency is changing will receive information before the changes take place. 

Not all properties are suitable for a less frequent black bin collection. Properties with communal collections and many town centre properties will keep their current frequency, though it is likely the collection day will change.

No changes to black bin collections will take place until later this year and households will be contacted before anything changes.

App

A new North Somerset Council app will launch in April. Residents will be able to set up reminders for when to put out bins and receive real-time information about the service if a collection can't be made, as well as find out about other council services.

Additional capacity

People who may struggle with a three-weekly black bin collection due to medical needs, children in disposable nappies or a larger household may qualify for additional capacity for their rubbish. 

We introduced weekly kerbside recycling collections of a wide range of materials, including food waste, 15 years ago. However, an analysis of the waste North Somerset households put in their black bins found that almost half (45 per cent) could have been recycled.

Of the total waste put in black bins, over a quarter (27 per cent) was food waste and almost half of this was unopened food still in its packaging. 

Last year, households in North Somerset generated approximately 90,000 tonnes of waste, 40,000 tonnes of which was put in black bins. 18,000 tonnes of this could have been recycled instead, saving money and protecting the environment.

Black bin rubbish costs £130 per tonne to dispose of and this year the council will need to spend about £5 million on processing this waste. In contrast, North Somerset Council’s separated kerbside recycling collections result in a high quality of material that can be sold and made into new materials and generates an income of around £30 per tonne. 

Several other local councils in the south west have already successfully made the switch to three-weekly non-recyclable rubbish collections, including Somerset, East Devon and Mid-Devon. All have seen an increase in recycling rates, a reduction in non-recyclable waste and a financial saving.

The move to three-weekly black bin collections is in line with the council’s Recycling and Waste strategy, which aims to reduce non-recycled waste and reach a recycling rate of 70 per cent by 2030. The changes will significantly reduce the costs associated with collecting and treating waste in North Somerset and generate savings of over £1million to help fund vital local services.

Operational improvements

Crews are receiving additional training on how to put containers back neatly and providing feedback cards if recycling or the black bin can't be collected, to help residents get it right next time.

The new collection routes take into consideration all the new houses which have been built across North Somerset since the routes were originally devised, as well as the roads which need to be collected with specialist vehicles to provide a more efficient and reliable service.