One in three South Somerset residents will see their bin collection day change once Recycle More has been rolled out in their area.

Recycle More is being gradually rolled out by the Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP), with refuse collections moving from fortnightly to once every three weeks as more items as recycled weekly at the kerbside.

South Somerset will become the latest district to enjoy the new service from late-June, following the roll-out in Mendip in October 2020.

To ease residents into the change, the SWP is taking part in 'talking cafes' where people can ask questions and raise concerns about the new system.

SWP representatives will be joining the South Somerset Talking Café live on

Facebook on Thursday (May 20) from 1pm, fielding questions for about 45 minutes.

Subsequent cafes about Recycle More will be staged on June 17 and July 15 at the same time via www.facebook.com/talkingcafesomerset.

In addition, the SWP will be hosting online Q&A sessions on its own Facebook pages on May 25, June 16 and July 5, which each session starting at 7pm.

SWP managing director Mickey Green said: "Recycle More is an important change that means around 78,000 households across South Somerset doing things a little differently.

"It's been working well in Mendip for some months now, generating around 100 tonnes of extra recycling each week.

"We're excited to bringing it to South Somerset and want to make sure everyone understands what is changing and when.

"If you're online, then the talking cafes and Facebook Q&As are a great opportunity to get your questions answered."

Under Recycle More, more items will be recycled at the kerbside – including plastic pots, tubs and trays, food and drink cartons, small batteries and small electrical items.

Every home will have a new recycling container – dubbed the 'bright blue bag' – delivered a week or two before the new service starts.

The SWP has confirmed that "roughly a third" of South Somerset residents will see their collection day change from the roll-out on June 28 – though a precise breakdown of which town and villages will see changes is not yet publicly available.

Following the roll-out in South Somerset, the former Taunton Deane area will begin receiving Recycle More in the autumn, with Sedgemoor and the former West Somerset area having to wait until early-2022.

The roll-out is being phased to allow the SWP to upgrade its five existing depots so they can handle thousands of tonnes of extra recycling.

For more information on the new collections, visit www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycle-more.