Celebrating five years of sustainable waste management with Somerset Council

SUEZ handles approximately 172,000 tonnes of household rubbish and recycling each year in Somerset, carrying out over 21 million collections on behalf of Somerset Council. Managed from five depots throughout the county, major investment in 2020 by Somerset Council upgrading infrastructure and fleet has resulted in a more efficient service across Somerset.

The roll out of the improved recycling service, ‘Recycle More’ began in October 2020 and included the implementation of 3 weekly rubbish collections, and collection of additional materials for recycling including, pots, tubs and trays, cartons and small electricals.

The county has increased its recycling rate from 52.86% to 56.3%, which now puts Somerset Council in the top 10% of local authorities for recycling in England.

As well as increasing recycling rates, the optimisation of new collection routes of rubbish and recycling throughout the county has provided an improved service to customers, and importantly has reduced carbon emissions by approximately 226 tonnes of Co2e. This is the equivalent to taking 101 diesel cars off the road for a year.

Somerset Council’s commitment to improving recycling rates, has included working in partnership with SUEZ to be part of the Flexible Plastic Fund (FPF) FlexCollect project, a trial collection of soft plastics from the households in the east of the county. This has recently expanded to over 25,000 homes and reached the milestone of collecting over 50 tonnes of flexible plastics, making it easier for residents to recycle more materials.

In line with SUEZ’s triple bottom line approach of people, planet, profit, SUEZ are also celebrating its employees in Somerset who have raised over £8,000 for Macmillan and the British Heart Foundation since the start of the contract. Working alongside Somerset Council’s ambition for a green and sustainable county, SUEZ’s commitment to local communities has also made an impact in local areas.

Initiatives include donations of over 60 litter picking kits to local community groups and schools, the launch of a Community Action Group project, managed by Resource Futures, which was set up to work with local community groups who are attempting to reduce waste in their local area, and the diversion of over 100 bikes via a bulky waste service to the local charity ‘On Your Bike’.

Matthew Canning, Contractor Director at SUEZ said: “It’s wonderful to see the impact our partnership has had over the last five years, particularly from an environmental perspective, with improved recycling rates. I’m proud of the whole team in Somerset and to mark the occasion each depot hosted a 5 year anniversary day. Together the SUEZ teams have completed over 90 days of volunteering with a range of different charities throughout the county and we are looking forward to continuing to work with our local communities in the future.’’

Councillor Richard Wilkins Somerset Council Lead Member for Transport and Waste said : “We would like to extend our thanks to all SUEZ recycling and recovery UK and Somerset Council colleagues for their dedication and hard work over the past five years. Their commitment and professionalism have been instrumental in delivering Somerset’s aspirations for climate action and waste avoidance. Together, our partnership will continue to deliver contract improvements and our aspirations for a more sustainable Somerset.”