RECYCLE More’s Bright Blue Bags will start arriving on doorsteps in Sedgemoor and West Somerset from Monday (February 7).

The containers are needed for the expanded service being introduced by Somerset Waste Partnership from Monday, February 28.

It will take around two weeks for all homes to get their bags, which will be left somewhere easy to find, usually in a recycling box, by teams following recycling crews.

Stickers will be stuck on recycling boxes making it clear what needs to go where once Recycle More starts.

With a 60-litre capacity, the Bright Blue Bags are tough, waterproof and washable. Key features include:

  • A weighted base so they won't blow away in the wind;
  • A Velcro-fastened lid so contents won't blow away;
  • Easy to fold-down and store when not in use.

They are already working well in Mendip, South Somerset and Taunton Deane, helping collect hundreds of tonnes of extra recycling each week.

'Recycle More is coming soon' leaflets will be arriving in the coming days.

They contain a 'what goes where' guide to the new service and a collection day calendar specific to each address, setting out when recycling and rubbish will be collected for the next year.

Two-thirds of homes will have a change in collection day.

Some households will also have a one-off, extra Saturday rubbish collection on February 26 or March 5 so that no one goes more than three weeks between rubbish collections during the changeover.

Recycle More adds the following items to weekly collections: plastic pots, tubs and trays; food and drink cartons, small household electrical items and batteries.

With more being recycled, rubbish is collected every three weeks instead of fortnightly.

From the first new collection, recycling should be sorted as follows:

  • Green box – glass bottles and jars, and cartons (including Tetra Pak);
  • Black box – paper and card;
  • Brown food waste bin – all food waste.

The Bright Blue Bag is used to hold:

  • Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays (rinsed and squashed/nested);
  • Tins and cans (rinsed and crushed if safe to do so);
  • Aerosols (empty);
  • Foil (rinsed).

Household electricals can go in an untied carrier bag on top of recycling. Small batteries should go in a tied, see-through bag like a bread or freezer bag.

SWP is hosting Facebook Q&A Days about the new service on Friday, February 18 and Wednesday, March 16 from 7am to 7pm.