Recycling News and Tips

Click here to go direct to the SWP website or read on for a summary.

This month we have a reminder of revised kerbside collections due to Easter's bank holidays. Plus:

• Cutting down waste at Easter
• The new schedule for recycling centre opening hours from 1 April
• Garden waste subscription reminder
• SWP Business Plan
• Recycling your plastic bottle tops

Do not miss your revised Easter kerbside collections

Kerbside recycling and refuse collections that would usually occur on Good Friday 19 April will be on Saturday 20 April.
All collections in the week starting Easter Monday 22 April will be one day later, with Friday's pick-ups moving to Saturday 27 April.
Keep an eye on revised collections by visiting our website, Facebook page or Twitter feed, so you are not caught out by bank holiday changes over Easter, May and the August bank holidays.

Avoiding waste at Easter

Easter, like Christmas can be another time when busy households generate lots of avoidable waste. Here are a few top-tips to help you cut your waste but still have fun.
Choose commercially produced Easter Eggs with the least packaging – with luxury eggs you are often paying for the packaging not contents.
Recycle the cardboard and aluminium foil from your egg in your black kerbside box.
Recycle the plastic protective package at any recycling site along with your plastic pots, tubs and food trays.
If you blow and decorate hen eggs, paint them with food dyes so you can add them to your home compost bin once Easter is over
Remember to remove embellishments before you recycle any Easter cards and consider sending e-cards instead.
Visit Love Food Hate Waste for advice on portion control, recipe ideas, food saving tips and much more.

Recycling Centre opening hours changes reminder

On 1 April, all recycling centres will start their new opening schedule, with later hours- to 6pm on open summer weekdays, 5pm in winter ' and full weekend opening to 4pm on both Saturday and Sundays. To check when your local recycling site is open, please click here. In brief:

• All 16 sites will open every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm all year.
• Later weekday closing in summer (6pm Apr-Sep) and winter (5pm Oct-Mar)
• All sites will start work at 9am reflecting low user numbers early in the day
• An end to underused 7pm Monday evenings
• Same or extra days open at 10 sites, including an extra day at both Chard and Wells (Dulcote)

Nearest Sites new opening timetables:
Bridgwater (Saltlands): Open daily except Wed
Somerton: Open daily except Mon-Tues
Street: Open daily except Thu-Fri
Taunton (Priorswood): Open seven days a week

How to keep your garden waste collections

Garden waste subscribers are reminded that they need to re-subscribe to ensure continued collection from April. You should have received a letter from your local council with details of the prices and how to subscribe.
If not received, contact your local council customer services.

Fortnightly kerbside pick-ups in wheeled bins or compostable paper sacks are good value when compared to the cost and time of taking garden waste to a recycling site.

After being shredded and composted in massive windrows, garden waste from Somerset is sold as Revive soil improver and is available to purchase in 40L sacks from all recycling sites.

Click here to access the Somerset Waste Partnership website including the 5 year business plan