Introduction
Household waste collections and recycling are the responsibility of Waste Services.
To see how Somerset is performing against our recycling targets have a look at the Recycling tracker report.
If you’re looking for information on fly-tipping visit our Report fly tipping page.
Waste hierarchy and the circular economy
Waste is not something to just throw away, it is a valuable resource that can be reused or recycled. The best approach to handling waste is to consider the waste hierarchy:
- Prevent
- Reuse
- Recycle
- Recover energy
- As a last resort, disposal
The cost of each option increases as you move down the hierarchy, therefore greater emphasis should be placed on those at the top.
The practice of reusing and recycling also links to the circular economy. A circular economy is where the lifecycle of resources is maintained as long as possible by following the waste hierarchy. The longer we can use something the less waste produced and resources used, all of which are great for the environment.
There are several initiatives that are taking place in Somerset to support a circular economy:
- Fixy van. To support the networks of repair cafes across Somerset we have a repair van that travels all around the county
- Reuse and pass it on. Somerset Waste have loads of useful tips and resources to reuse across Somerset
If you’re looking at reducing waste or making your event or festival more sustainable, check out our event sustainability guidance (PDF 170KB) along with a guide to introducing reusable cup schemes (PDF 5.37MB).
Single use plastics
You can now recycle soft plastics at several supermarkets. See below to check if there is a collection point in your area: