Somerset Council reveals recycling and reuse results

Somerset Council has published their latest reuse and recycling results, showing reuse is on the increase and landfill at a record low.

This year (2023/24), saw 2,300 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 as it removes the need for items to be broken down, processed and made into something new.

The amount of waste going to landfill, 5,500 tonnes, is a record low and nearly 96% of the 145,000 tonnes of recycling materials collected stayed in the UK (54% in Somerset), to be turned into new products and packaging.

Somerset’s recycling rate of 56% puts it in the top 20% of waste authorities in England.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, Executive Member for Transport and Waste Services said: “We’re committed to sharing what happens to our resident’s waste.

“This is the sixteenth year of publishing our recycling and reuse results and wherever possible we recycle waste as close to home as we can.”

“Together we’ve saved an extra 5,493 tonnes of carbon compared to last year – the equivalent of taking an additional 2,113 cars off the road for a year.”

Other key figures include:

• 130,484 tonnes of carbon has been saved through recycling the materials collected at the kerbside and at recycling sites, equivalent to taking 50,000 cars off the road for a year.

• 21,106 tonnes of food waste was collected – all of which stays in Somerset, going to an anaerobic digestion plant to be turned into biofertilizer to be used on agricultural land and biogas.
• 48,463 tonnes of garden waste was collected – all of which stays in Somerset, going to Walpole, Dimmer and Priorswood to be composted, ready for use on gardens and farms.
• Somerset’s recycling rate is 56%, higher than England’s average of 43%.

Publishing what happens after each tonne of waste is collected shows that the reprocessing companies used are legitimate – no recycling is burned, dumped or ends up in the ocean.

Recycling in Somerset could become anything from cardboard boxes and plastic pipes to soil conditioner and car parts.

The full recycling results can be viewed online at: www.somerset.gov.uk/recycling-tracker.