Why sort recycling at the kerbside?

In the UK, recycling collections are either ‘kerbside sort’ or ‘co-mingled’.

Kerbside sort – residents sort items into the right box or bag. Materials are loaded into truck compartments by the collection crews. This is what we do in Somerset. For more information, see our Household recycling collection page.

Co-mingled – residents put all their recycling into a single wheeled bin, mixed together. The bin is tipped into a truck and then goes to a material recycling facility and is sorted there.

In both cases, sorted recycling is sent to re-processors who turn it into new products or packaging.

Somerset has kerbside sort because of its environmental and financial benefits:

• It helps us recycle more and recycle closer to home – it has been shown to produce better sorted recycling with less ‘contamination’ by other materials. This is more in demand from UK re-processors and more valuable. Our Recycling Tracker shows how this helps keep the vast majority of our recycling in the UK.
• It saves carbon – there is no need for the very heavy carbon footprint of an energy-hungry material recycling facility.
• It is financially better – we get a better price for the recycling we sell to re-processors and do not have the significant extra costs of running a material recycling facility and supplying 260,000 plus wheeled bins. This helps us keep our costs down.

Extra or replacement containers

Our containers should not be used for any other purpose than waste collections. We are unable to accept liability for loss or damage to items stored within our containers such as parcels, keys or cash.

If you move home, recycling containers and bins provided by Somerset Council should be left behind for the next occupier.

Stretch covers for boxes

We do not supply lids for recycling boxes, nor recommend their use, or the use of box dividers.

To help with storage between collections, stretch covers are available from All Green on 01935 891 892 or via their website – All Green.

Before ordering a stretch cover, it is important to be aware of the following:

• Somerset Council and our contractors cannot accept responsibility for any damage or loss to your cover if put out for collection.
• We recommend they are only used for storage and not put out for collection. If a cover is on a box, crews have been instructed to return it with boxes.
• We recommend you mark boxes and covers with your house number or name to reduce the risk of them getting lost or mixed up with others.

Remove stretch covers, nets or lids before putting your recycling out for collection.