People in Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, Street and Wells asked to give feedback on 'recycle more'

The Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is shifting the entire county onto its Recycle More scheme, which entails more materials being collected weekly at the kerbside and refuse collections moving from fortnightly to once every three weeks.

Mendip residents were the first to experience the new system when it rolled out in October 26, 2020 – which has led to a rise in the volume of recyclable materials being collected.

Residents are now being asked to give their feedback on the service via an online survey before the roll-out moves on to South Somerset in June.

The survey is open only to Mendip residents who have already experienced more – including those in Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, Street and Wells, as well as the surrounding villages.

The survey asks residents how well they feel the new service is working and how their recycling habits have changed since late-October.

Under the new collections, plastic pots, tubs and trays can be recycled, along with TetraPaks, similar cartons, batteries and small household electrical items.

While the scheme has resulted in a higher volume of material being processed for recycling – at the SWP’s refurbished depot at Evercreech Junction – there have been a number of teething problems regarding missed collections and communal waste collection points.

SWP managing director was forced to issue an apology at a meeting of Mendip District Council’s scrutiny board on March 18 after Councillor Bente Height described the service in Shepton Mallet as “the worst I’ve ever seen”.

She added: “You get money through Mendip District Council from some of the poorest in my ward – and they agree with me: we might as well put it into one big lorry, take it up to Viridor at Avonmouth and have it all burned, and then Viridor can distribute the heat through pipes.”

Mr Green replied: “We’ve changed the service in the last few weeks to increase the amount that people can recycle. But I do take on board that when a communal collection is missed, it can overflow quite quickly.”

To take part in the survey (if you live in the Mendip district), visit www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/tellus by April 30.

A total of 76,653 households in South Somerset – including Bruton, Castle Cary, Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, Wincanton, Yeovil and the surrounding villages – will begin receiving the Recycle More service on June 28.

The former Taunton Deane area (now part of Somerset West and Taunton) will have Recycle More in place for all 55,207 households from September 27 – though this could be pushed back to October 25 if there are logical issues.

The remaining 72,312 households in Somerset (comprising Sedgemoor and the former West Somerset area) will begin new collections from February 28, 2022 – though this could be pushed back to March 28 if needs must.