WASTE bosses have ‘no plans’ to reverse recent changes to bin collections across Somerset despite recent advice from the Government.

The ‘Recycle More’ reforms were rolled out across the county in the year to June, 2022, with more items being recycled at the kerbside and refuse collections moving from fortnightly to once every three weeks.

But now the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said it was considering making councils collect refuse rubbish ‘at least fortnightly’ as part of ‘a new, simpler, common-sense approach to recycling’.

Somerset Council said it did not have any plans to return to fortnightly refuse collections, arguing it had increased recycling rates and Defra’s proposals ‘lack clarity’.

Some of the measures announced by Defra have already been implemented in Somerset, including weekly food waste collections and providing simple distinctions over which containers should be used for each kind of recyclable material.

Under ‘Recycle More’, households across Somerset were provided with a ‘big blue bag’ to store recyclable plastics, tin cans, aerosols, and foil, in addition to a green box for glass, a black box for paper and cardboard, and a brown caddy for food waste.

Defra is also backing the move to a deposit-return scheme for drinks containers, which could be implemented in Somerset by October, 2025, in a bid to reduce the number of single use plastic bottles.

But Defra said there would be an expectation that ‘residual rubbish such as black bin waste was collected at least fortnightly, helping avoid long waits for smelly waste to be removed.

A spokesperson said: “We will also work with local authorities to assess the collection of residual waste more frequently, especially in urban areas.”

Somerset’s three-weekly refuse collections form part of the council’s waste collection contract with Suez, meaning it would need to be substantially renegotiated if the Government imposed its intended changes.

The council said the Government’s proposals were not legally binding and the ‘Recycle More’ changes had seen a rise in recycling, with 56.2 per cent of all material collected by bin crews able to be recycled since it was implemented.

A spokesman said: “This is still under consultation and changes would not come into play until 2026.

“The Government is proposing the changes as guidance and not law.

“The proposals lack clarity and we therefore have no plans to reverse our successful ‘Recycle More’ service.

“The three-weekly refuse collections and expanded recycling collections have seen a reduction in refuse and helped our recycling rate rise to its highest ever level and above the national average.

“In England, there are around 12 local authorities who collect refuse every three weeks, and we are often asked by others how they could learn from what we have achieved.”