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Launched earlier this year in June, the restructured service includes weekly collections of recyclable items, the ability to recycle plastic bags and soft plastic wrapping, and the switch of most non-recyclable waste (black bin) collections from fortnightly to every three weeks.
Since the introduction of the new service, the response from residents has been overwhelmingly positive with many having found the adjustment easier to manage than expected.
Early results show a 15 per cent reduction in black bin rubbish, and an overall 10 per cent increase in recycling rates, with food recycling up by 12 per cent.
These improvements mark a significant step forward in achieving the council’s recycling and waste targets, make a positive contribution to supporting the environment and help tackle ongoing financial challenges by generating savings from higher-quality recycling and reducing landfill disposal costs for non-recyclable waste.
Cllr Annemieke Waite, Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment at North Somerset Council said: “We’re really pleased to see how well our residents have adapted to the new collection schedule. The improvements in recycling rates are fantastic and show how small changes can make a big difference for our environment and community.
“Every bag, bottle and wrapper recycled helps us move towards a cleaner, greener North Somerset. Thank you to everyone for doing their best to waste less and recycle more.”
While the service has been running smoothly overall, the council acknowledges some durability issues with red recycling bags. Discussions are under way with the supplier to address these concerns.
The decision to roll-out the red bags followed a successful trial of 6,000 bags, which received positive feedback from residents and collection crews. The trial bags remain in good condition, demonstrating the benefits of the increased capacity for recycling, faster and more efficient collections, and higher-quality recyclables that are easier to sort.
Residents are advised that faded bags can still be used, but where a bag is broken and beyond use, a replacement can be ordered online. The current replacements are from the same batch, so the council recommends storing them out of direct sunlight where possible. The council acknowledges that this is not ideal and says that continuing to replace damaged bags with ones from the faulty batch is only temporary while discussions with the supplier are ongoing.
In another milestone, in July (2025), North Somerset was the first local authority in the UK to offer kerbside collections for plastic bags and soft plastic wrapping– across the entire area - and participation has exceeded expectations.
The first and second loads collected totalled 49 tonnes of soft plastics – that’s equivalent to over 25.7 million empty crisp packets – which has been sent to a recycling facility in Hartlepool. Here the plastics will go through a specialised sorting process before being granulated, washed and then sold on as recycled LDPE pellets ready to be made into new packaging such as carrier bags.
For more information about waste and recycling collections, or to order a replacement red bag, visit Bins and recycling | North Somerset Council or, for even greater ease, download the North Somerset Council app from your preferred app store.