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Landfill buries valuable resources, produces harmful chemicals and affects the local environment badly in many ways. We need to reduce the amount of waste we produce and increase the proportion of it that is re-used or re-cycled.

Common items take a long time to break down in landfill.

Cardboard – 5 years, Cans – 80yrs,

Drinks cartons 5yrs, Plastic bottles – 450yrs

Plastic bags – 400yrs, Disposable nappies 500yrs Glass – NEVER

So we need to

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE Recover Energy in that order to maximise our use of resources. For instance:

REDUCE – minimise junk mail (register with www.mpsonline.org.uk or phone 0845 703 4599), buy only what you

need, buy less packaging and buy from local sustainable producers (eg farm shops)

Also stop telephone sales calls via www.callpreventionregistry.co .uk or call 0870 1430707)

RE-USE – via charity shops, use cloth nappies*, reusable bags, rechargeable batteries etc, send old computers to .

recycle groups*, use glass milkbottles, recycle other items via www.freecycle.org, Furnicare (Yeovil 433416) etc

RECYCLE Recycling is really developing now as there is a strong need to reduce the amount of waste that

goes to landfill. It also has the advantage of conserving energy, vital in the fight against Global Warming.

Kerbside Recycling In Norton we have collections every Monday of recyclable material.

Black Box – food and drink cans, foil, mixed glass, paper (inc. magazines and Yellow Pages), mixed clothes, textiles and pairs of reusable shoes, (seal in a plastic bag to keep dry), car batteries (put next to box) These items are re-cycled or re-used in the developing world.

Brown Food Waste bin – All food waste inc. bones, meat, dairy waste, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, bread etc. Wrap items in newspaper or use compostable liners. This material is composted at Dimmer and used as a soil improver.

Garden Waste* - £25 pa for fortnightly collection or £7.50 for 10 bags, use as required. This is composted and sold as a soil conditioner at recycling centres.

At Recycling centres

:Yeovil – Artillery Road, Lufton Trading Estate, BA22 8RP to recycle:

Asbestos* Metal

Cans                                                                    Oil
Cardboard (flattened)                                        Paper
Cartons (drinks, juices etc)                                Plastic bottles (without tops and flattened) (not yoghurt pots etc)
Garden waste                                                      Refrigerators and Freezers
Glass                                                                  Textiles
Hardcore*                                                            Wood

Crewkerne - Industrial Estate, Blacknell Lane to recycle:

             Batteries (Household Batteries)                                           Metal
             Cans                                                                                      Paper
             Cardboard (flattened)                                                          Plastic bottles (without tops and flattened)
             Cartons                                                                                 Printer cartridges
             Engine oil                                                                               Refrigerators and Freezers
             Garden waste                                                                       Textiles
             Glass                                                                                      Wood
             Hardcore*           NB no Asbestos

Make a trip to the recycling centre part of your shopping trip or car-share with a neighbour!

Home Composting - cheap bins available from the compost section on the website below.

Put in 50% vegetable. matter and 50% scrunched paper, fibre, hair, sawdust, chopped textiles, cereal boxes, toilet roll centres etc Should be usable compost for your garden in 18mths.

And remember to buy recycled products to complete the circle!

* see www.recyclesomerset.info for more information