Shepton Mallet residents will see a big change to their rubbish collections from June 2020 – though some areas of the county must wait two years to see the benefit.

The Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is preparing to roll out its Recycle More programme, which will allow a wider range of materials to be collected at the kerbside on a weekly basis.

The roll-out is being staggered over a two-year period, with Mendip residents being the first to experience the new collections.

This means some of the more rural parts of Somerset – including people living on Exmoor – will have to wait until 2022 before the programme is in place in their area.

Details of the roll-out were discussed at a meeting of the SWP joint scrutiny panel in Taunton on Monday morning (December 16).

All residents will be supplied with a "reusable sack" with a 60-litre capacity to store their recycling.

In addition to materials which can already be recycled at the kerbside – such as paper, cans, glass and foil – items like plastic tubs, TetraPak cartons, batteries and small electrical items will also be collected.

The roll-out of Recycle More will be undertaken in five distinct phases between June 2020 and February 2022, with the phases being broken down as follows:

PHASE ONE (June 29, 2020): Mendip

Key settlements affected: Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, Street, Wells

Local depot: Evercreech

PHASE TWO (September 28, 2020): South Somerset (eastern part)

Key settlements affected: Bruton, Castle Cary, Wincanton, Yeovil

Local depots: Evercreech and Lufton (Yeovil)

PHASE THREE (June 2021): South Somerset (western part) and Somerset West and Taunton (central and eastern parts)

Key settlements affected: Bishop's Lydeard, Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, Taunton, Wellington

Local depots: Bridgwater and Taunton

PHASE FOUR (September 2021): Sedgemoor (as well as small, remaining parts of Mendip and Somerset West and Taunton)

Key settlements affected: Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Highbridge, North Petherton

Local depots: Bridgwater and Taunton

PHASE FIVE (February 2022): Somerset West and Taunton (former West Somerset area)

Key settlements affected: Minehead, Watchet, Williton

Local depot: Williton

The two existing depots in Taunton and Bridgwater are being re-purposed, with Bridgwater becoming a permanent base for the new waste vehicles and Taunton a major hub for processing recyclable materials.

SWP managing director Mickey Green said there had been a small delay in the construction work on the Evercreech depot, but this would not adversely affect the roll-out.

He said in his written report: "Thee mobilisation programme is currently on schedule, with no major areas of concern other than delays to the construction programme at Evercreech.

"We have worked closely with our contractor Suez and are confident that this construction delay will not impact upon the day to day service or the roll-out of Recycle More."

Once Recycle More has been rolled out in a given area, refuse collections (the large black bins for general rubbish) will be reduced from once a fortnight to once every three weeks.

Garden waste and clinical waste collections will remain unchanged. Collections from flats will also remain unchanged, though some extra materials may be collected.

For a full breakdown of what can be recycled under Recycle More, click on the red button below.