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North Somerset Council will be introducing a new red recycling bag, collecting a wider range of recycling materials, launching a new app, and switching black bin collections from fortnightly to three-weekly later this year.
After a very successful trial with 6,000 households, a new reusable red bag for recycling household plastic and metal packaging will start being delivered to North Somerset households from the end of March.
The new red bag provides extra space for more recycling, is weighted to stop it blowing away, bigger than recycling boxes, and secures with a Velcro strip across the top to prevent litter.
A leaflet inside the bag provides full instructions and households can start using their new bag as well as their existing recycling boxes straight away.
Councillor Annemieke Waite, North Somerset Council’s executive member for climate, waste and sustainability, said: “We want to make North Somerset a thriving and sustainable place to live, work and visit. As well as making recycling easier, the changes we’re announcing today will significantly reduce the costs associated with waste disposal and instead generate savings of over £1million to help fund vital local services.
“Weighted, reusable bags for recycling are used successfully by lots of other councils across the country. We know from our trial that the red bag gives people much more space for their weekly recycling so there’s a lot less put in black bins, and the majority of participants recommended the red bag is rolled out to the rest of North Somerset.”
North Somerset Council first introduced weekly kerbside recycling collections of a wide range of materials including food waste fifteen years ago. However, analysis of the waste North Somerset households put in their black bins shows that almost half (45 per cent) could be 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. Anyone not yet recycling their food waste can request containers and find out more at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/foodwaste.
The other changes to recycling and waste collections will be introduced later this year, including the collection of 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. North Somerset Council will be one of the first councils in the country to collect these items. Households will be notified before these changes begin.
Cllr Waite added: “Several other councils have already successfully made the switch to three-weekly bin collections, including Somerset, East Devon and Mid Devon. We will be in touch with households to let them know when their collections will change later this year. For anyone who has concerns, support is available.”
A team of waste minimisation officers are available to advise anyone who is looking for more support to recycle as much as they can. 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. To request support please go to www.n-somerset.gov.uk/threeweekly.
A brand new North Somerset Council app will also launch in April to make recycling even easier, with the option to set up reminders for when to put out bins and receive real-time information about the service.
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.