The second phase is due to start from the week beginning Monday 17 June 2024.

• Phase two areas include former Mendip and the majority of South Somerset.

Every household with a new collection day will be written to twice before anything changes.

Residents with a change will receive a letter in the post at the beginning of May. From 27 May, residents (in phase two areas) will receive their service guide, which includes a 12 month collection calendar.

Some towns and villages may be served by more than one route and changes may affect some streets but not others.

Residents may have:

• a change to collection day
• a change in week that their refuse is collected (it will still be picked up every three weeks)
• a one-off interim rubbish collection (this is to make sure no-one goes too long between rubbish collections)

There will be no changes to:

• collection days for garden waste subscribers
• clinical waste collections
• communal property collections
• schools waste collection

We are bringing in new routes to make sure our collections are as efficient as possible. This will reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of service, but means that collections need to change for many households

The new routes should cut vehicle mileage and reduce carbon emissions by 7%. We will also reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

We are sorry, if you put your recycling and refuse out on the wrong day, we will not be able to return for it. Crews will return on their next scheduled day.

Residents who are part of phase two will receive their calendar in the post (even if their days stay the same) by the early June.

You can download your service guide and find details on the recent reroute of waste collections here.

Waste collections are carried out on behalf of Somerset Council by their collections contactor Suez. The changes made will increase efficiency and therefore be cost effective. Any costs, including printing and postage of letters and guides are paid for by Suez, and come at no additional cost to the council.

Yes, the frequency of all waste collections will stay the same. Some households will receive a one-off refuse collection on a Saturday to make sure they do not miss out while the changeover happens, this will be detailed in the letter.