Waste/Re-cycling Collections

Make sure you know when we will be picking up recycling and rubbish.

Know your festive collection days

Make sure you know when we will be picking up recycling and rubbish. You can also lookup all your collection days using My Collection Day on our home page at somersetwaste.gov.uk.

Manage your festive recycling and rubbish

Real Christmas trees

Compost at home if you can, or add it to your garden’s wildlife corner.

If you are a subscriber to our garden waste service, leave your tree, decoration-free, next to your garden waste bin for collection – as long as it is no taller than 6ft and its trunk is no wider than six inches. Collections restart on Monday 10th January. You can check your first 2022 collection using the My Collection Day menu at somersetwaste.gov.uk

If your tree is taller than 6ft or has a trunk wider than 6 inches, you will need to take it to a recycling site as that’s just too big for the crews and vehicles to handle. Not a subscriber? You will need to take your tree, decoration-free, to a recycling site and put it in the garden waste skip. They will not be collected from the kerbside.

For a donation, there are now two Somerset charity Christmas tree collections covering most of the county. Dorothy House Hospice Care will collect trees from around Frome, Shepton Mallet, Wells and elsewhere. St Margaret’s Hospice Care and Children’s Hospice South West will collect trees from around Bridgwater, Taunton, Wellington, Yeovil and elsewhere. Click here – just-helping.org.uk – to check if there is a collection from your address and book your tree in now.

Wrapping paper

Foil, plastic or glittery wrapping paper cannot be recycled and has to go into your rubbish.

Any paper wrapping you cannot reuse, remove sticky tape, bows and decorations and put it in your paper recycling box. We cannot accept any wrapping paper in a black bag because we cannot see what is inside.

If you have a large load take it to one of our 16 recycling sites. Each will have a special drop-off point for wrapping paper (don’t put it in the cardboard skips).

Tubs and tins of sweets and chocolates

There is lots of scope for reuse as storage at home, but if you have to dispose of them, recycle where you can.

Plastic tubs can be dropped off in the skip for plastic pots, tubs, trays and bottles at any recycling site, or – if you have a Recycle More collection – add them to your Bright Blue Bag.

Metal tins can be dropped off at any recycle site. If you have a Recycle More collection, please – if safe – crush and add to your Bright Blue Bag. If no Recycle More collection, please – if safe – crush and add to your black recycling box.

Tubes of crisps (that rhyme with Christingles)

Pringles cannot be taken in kerbside collections but these and similar “paper containers with metal ends” can be dropped off at 12 recycling sites (all but Castle Cary, Cheddar, Dulverton and Somerton) in the skips for cartons/Tetra Paks.

Mince pie foil tins

Put these in your weekly recycling collections. If you have a Recycle More collection, scrunch them up and add to your Bright Blue Bag. Everywhere else, scrunch and add to your black recycling box.

Cards and crackers

This year’s cut-up Christmas cards can become next year’s gift tags. If you need to recycle them, use the appropriate recycling box, but remove glitter and ribbons etc first. Cards can also be taken to any recycling site. For Christmas crackers, remove glitter and ribbons etc, and add to your recycle box.

Christmas lights

These count as electrical items. If you have a Recycle More collection, you can leave them in an untied bag alongside your recycling. Everywhere else, please take them to a recycling site.

Batteries

Recycle them once they are dead. If you have a Recycle More collection, put them out in a small, untied bag. Everywhere else, batteries can be recycled by taking them to any recycling site or added to collections in supermarkets and electrical stores.

Food waste

If you really cannot make use of leftovers, make sure you put them in your food waste bin. If you have not already got one, please order one (for free) using the My Waste Services drop-down menu at somersetwaste.gov.uk All food can be recycled – raw, cooked, fresh, “off”, bread to bones, including your turkey carcass – plus paper kitchen towel and paper napkins. Solid fats can go in your food waste bin, but liquid oils should be recycled at any recycling site.

Gifts – Think outside the box

Avoid unwanted presents but keep the element of surprise by asking for wish lists. Try and invest in gifts of quality that will last and could be reused.

Consider gifts that do not need to come in big cardboard boxes or any boxes at all. Vouchers for local restaurants, attractions, or experiences; digital subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, or streaming services; memberships for clubs or trusts – all waste-free gifts that will give loved ones something to look forward to in 2022.

Buy local to invest back in your own community. Local retailers can deliver to your door just as well as the big names. They usually use less packaging and certainly mean fewer “gift miles”. Check out the new Shop Somerset website for ideas https://www.shopsomerset.co.uk/

Make it scrunch time for wrapping paper

Steer clear of any glittery, plastic or foil wrapping options and stick with good old paper wrapping (recycled if possible) which can be recycled after use.

If in doubt, give it the scrunch test: scrunch it and it stays scrunched, it is recyclable, just make sure it doesn’t have tape or glitter on it. If it does not stay scrunched, it cannot be recycled and needs to go straight into your rubbish.

Make this the year you reuse wrapping paper or try wrapping gifts in fabric (a custom known as Furoshiki in Japan)? It’ll save you money as well as being good for the environment.

Make a meal of planning

Somerset is recycling more of its food waste than ever. That is good news, but it would be even better if we cut out the waste altogether.

Meal planning for the festive period means you only buy what you need and eat all you buy. Check your stocks before you go shopping and eat the contents of your freezer and fridge to make space for your festive food.

Avoid the temptation to buy too much “just in case”. Most shops are open for much of the holiday and the “just in case” food is often what gets wasted.

Make the most of your leftovers by being creative in the kitchen and having store cupboard staples like rice and pasta on hand to turn leftovers into substantial meals.

www.outofdate.org.uk and www.lovefoodhatewaste.com have lots of tips on shopping and storage, as well as recipes for leftovers.

Make the most of recycling sites

Our 16 sites across the county will be open their usual winter hours throughout the festive period, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Two sites have one-off extra days open: Dulverton 9 am-5 pm on Monday 27 December and Crewkerne 9 am-5 pm on Tuesday 28 December.

They are the best way to get rid of large quantities of any materials, especially when public holidays or severe weather disrupt the usual recycling and rubbish collections.

Check the current COVID restrictions, and wear gloves, plus a mask if possible. Check here for your nearby recycling sites, what they take and when they are open.