Bath and North East Somerset Council is reporting that recycling rates have jumped – with around 100 tonnes of waste now being recycled each day, thanks to the support of local residents.

Figures show crews collected almost 450 tonnes of recycling last week, ten tonnes more each day, since the new waste service started on 6th November.

There has been a notable reduction in the general rubbish collection, with less each day going into the black wheelie bins and reusable rubbish bags.

Cllr Bob Goodman (Conservative, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Development and Neighbourhoods, said: “These are fantastic figures, and I hope they will continue to improve. We want to thank everyone for helping with this transition to the new service and for bearing with us during some teething problems.

“This was one of the biggest changes to our waste collection service. Crews have had to learn new routes and an increase in tonnage on recycling trucks means some recycling rounds are currently being picked up the following day. These are short-term issues which we are resolving and we want to thank people for their patience.”

Figures show a phenomenal number of green boxes and food caddies being ordered with around 6,000 due to be delivered or collected from recycling centres.

More than 5,000 people have signed up for Bath and North East Somerset Council’s weekly text reminder service – helping people avoid any confusion about the right day to put their recycling and waste out.

Councillor Goodman added: “We’ve got additional staff and trucks delivering containers, but it may take a few weeks to get to everyone. If you don’t want to wait, you can collect them from the council’s recycling centres in Midsomer Norton, Bath and Keynsham. Alternatively, you can continue to put your recycling out in other suitable containers while you are waiting.”

Bath and North East Somerset Council is only delivering recycling containers on request. If you are confused about the new service, please visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/recycle where there are FAQs to help deal with most of the questions you may have. An information pack, which was delivered with the bin/bag includes a calendar showing new collection days. Readers can also check their collection day by going to: www.bathnes.gov.uk/checkcollection

B&NES Council went live at the beginning of November with the new, fortnightly collections, partly to help save money – but not everyone is impressed. Some families are finding the new bins too small, with pictures of bin liners placed next to them and disgruntled residents tagging The Journal on Twitter asking about missing bins, no collections, fly tipping, what to do with egg boxes and a request for recycling bins around the city.