A new era in recycling is underway in Shepton Mallet, blazing a trail for other parts of Somerset next year.

Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is thanking residents across Mendip for getting Recycle More off to a flying start last week.

Around 53,000 homes have had their first expanded collections. It is too early for accurate figures, but all the signs are that tonnes of extra recycling were collected in the first five days.

That will mean millions of extra items rescued from the rubbish each year, protecting our environment, and being turned into new products and packaging.

Mendip is the only part of the county having Recycle More introduced this year. The service is being rolled-out in four stages over 18 months, so depots can be upgraded one-by-one to handle the extra recycling.

Recycle More is due in South Somerset at the end of June/early July 2021, and the rest of the county by late February/early March 2022, though dates could be subject to change.

SWP managing director, Mickey Green, said: "Mendip residents have done a great job in getting behind Recycle More and so have the crews.

"It's good to see and bodes well for the rest of the county. We have to do this in stages and it's really important that everyone outside of Mendip carries on recycling as they do now until the new service reaches their area."

Recycle More means materials collected from the kerbside every week - plastic pots, tubs and trays; cartons including Tetra Paks, small batteries and small electrical devices.

Residents are given a new recycling container – a Bright Blue Bag – and need to put different items in their recycling boxes. More recycling means less rubbish, so this is collected every three weeks instead of every two.

As well as protecting the environment and helping tackle climate change, it saves £2 million a year that can go on other vital local services.

For information about Recycle More visit somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycle-more.