Introduction
Our recycling tracker shows what happens to recycling which is collected each year – and what happens to it. We share what happens to every tonne, the companies involved and its likely use as new packaging and products.
During 2023-24 :
- 145,133 tonnes of recycling was collected
- 55.96% recycling rate
- 95.8% of all recycling stayed in the UK
- 99% of plastics were recycled in the UK
- 53.6% of recycling stayed in Somerset
- Only 5,542 tonnes of waste went to landfill
- 130,484 tonnes of carbon was saved by recycling instead of landfill
Tracking what happens after each tonne of waste is collected, or taken to a recycling site, shows that the reprocessing companies used are legitimate – no recycling is burned, dumped or ends up in the ocean.
Our recycling in Somerset could become anything from cardboard boxes and plastic pipes, to soil conditioner and car parts.
Download the 2023-2024 Recycling Tracker in full
Earlier editions of the recycling tracker
Download earlier editions of the tracker. Note, the tracker has been previously known as ‘Beyond the Kerb; Recycling to Resources’, and the ‘End Use Register’.
- Recycling Tracker report 2022 – 2023
- Recycling Tracker report 2021 – 2022
- Recycling Tracker report 2020 – 2021
- Beyond the Kerb Recycling to Resources 2019 – 2020
- Beyond the Kerb Recycling to Resources 2018 – 2019
- Recycling End Use Register 2017 – 2018
- Recycling End Use Register 2016 – 2017
- Recycling End Use Register 2015 – 2016
- Recycling End Use Register 2014 – 2015
- Recycling End Use Register 2013 – 2014
- Recycling End Use Register 2012 – 2013
What happens to the waste we collect
Recycling is sold for reprocessing on our behalf by our contractors SUEZ and Biffa. Together, we have a commitment that all materials collected for recycling will stay in the UK if there is the reprocessing capacity and demand.
The excellent kerbside sorting into boxes and bags helps us get more recycling reprocessed closer to home. You can read more about this on Sorting your recycling into containers page.
Kerbside sorting reduces contamination by other materials and that makes it easier to sell to UK-based companies.
How much has Somerset recycled
145,133 tonnes of recycling was collected and 95.8% of Somerset’s recycling was reprocessed in the UK, 53.6% of which stayed in the county.
How much was saved to be reused?
This year (2023/24), saw 2,394 tonnes reused, an increase of almost 400 tonnes. This includes smart tech collected via the Fixy project, furniture and bric-a-brac donated to furniture reuse groups and reusable textiles collected from the kerbside and via recycling sites.
Reusing items (for example, mobile phones, furniture or bicycles), is more environmentally friendly than recycling, removing the need to be broken down, processed and made into something new.
Food waste
More than 21,100 tonnes collected, all recycled in Somerset.
The amount of food waste collected has reduced, which is great news as food waste is a large contributor to climate change. Reducing food waste helps the environment, while saving residents money by using what you already have.
Food waste is transformed into electricity by the anaerobic digestion plant at Walpole near Bridgwater. Powering homes and businesses, plus farm compost to help grow more food.
Garden waste – stays in Somerset
This year, 48,463 tonnes of garden waste was collected either from our kerbsides or at household recycling sites. This has risen from the year before, likely because of the particularly wet summer in 2023. Garden waste is composted in Somerset and turned into Revive soil improver, available to buy from our recycling sites.
Paper, card and glass
Paper and card at 24,335 tonnes, and glass at 16,941 tonnes have both reduced for the past two years. A reduction in waste could mean a couple of things – and is often linked to external influences.
- Households and businesses are committed to reduced packaging options.
- It could also reflect the current cost of living crisis, with residents spending less and therefore less waste being produced at home.
Pioneered in 2008, Somerset was the first waste authority to publish this kind of annual, detailed breakdown.
Somerset’s impressive recycling rate puts it among the leading authorities for recycling, with plenty of potential for residents to raise that even further. It also makes Somerset one of the very best areas for carbon saving. That is all down to the kerbside sorting producing the kind of low-contamination, high-quality materials the market demands.
How materials are recycled
| Paper | Sent to paper mills in the UK and overseas to be recycled into newsprint and other paper and board products. |
| Cardboard | Sent to board mills in the UK and overseas to be recycled into new cardboard. |
| Mixed container glass | Sent to reprocessing facilities in the UK to be turned into new glass bottles and jars, mineral wool and other glass products. |
| Cans and foil | Sorted into steel and aluminium and sent to reprocessing facilities in the UK. Steel cans are made into new steel products and aluminium cans are recycled into more cans and other aluminium products. |
| Food waste | Sent to an anaerobic digestion facility near Bridgwater to produce a soil improver used on agricultural land and biogas used to generate electricity. |
| Garden waste | Composted in Somerset by Biffa. Sold as Revive Compost at recycling centres or in bulk for agricultural use. |
| Textiles | Sent for reuse in the UK and developing world or shredded into cotton felt/wadding/mops and industrial wiping cloths. |
| Shoes | Sent to developing nations to be refurbished and reused. Those not suitable for reuse are recycled. |
| Plastic bottles and pots, tubs and trays | Sent to reprocessors in the UK to be recycled into various plastic items such as new plastic packaging, films, pipes, compost bins and fleece jackets. |
| Beverage cartons | Sent to reprocessors in the UK to be separated into paper for cardboard products, plastic to generate energy, and aluminium to be used for aluminium products. |
| Fridges and freezers | Broken down into separate components for reuse in manufacturing, and CFCs extracted for safe disposal. |
| Electrical | Broken down into separate components, baled and recycled. |
| Bric a brac | Sent to various local outlets via collection agents at each recycling site. |
| Household batteries | Separated into different fractions (that is, metal and plastic) for reuse in manufacturing. |
| Automotive batteries | Separated into different fractions (that is, metal and plastic) for reuse in manufacturing. |
| Cooking oil | Turned into biofuel to generate electricity and heat. |
| Engine oil | Oils are recovered and blended for use as an alternative fuel. |
| Paint (water based) | Recycled into new paint products. |
| Scrap metal | Sent to various reprocessors who break it down into separate components, bale and recycle it. |
| Wood (Clean and low grade timber) | Some of the wood is chipped and made into a range of products including animal bedding, equestrian surfaces. Some is incinerated to produce energy and heat. |
| Plasterboard | Separated into gypsum which is reprocessed into new plasterboard, and paper which is recycled into a variety of new paper materials. |