CARDBOARD and plastic bottle recycling could soon be introduced in the Cheddar area.

CARDBOARD and plastic bottle recycling could soon be introduced in the Cheddar area.

Somerset Waste Partnership and ECT Recycling have just signed a new contract meaning the collection of refuse and recycling will be carried out by the same company.

ECT Recycling will now be carrying out both collections for all five of the county's district councils to help the authority reach record recycling rates.

Kerbside collections will carry on as normal, but residents may soon be able to put cardboard and plastic bottles into their green boxes too.

Food waste could also soon be collected from properties in Sedgemoor and West Somerset and refuse collections could become fortnightly under the partnership's Sort It model. The services are already running in South Somerset, Mendip and Taunton Deane.

Steve Read, director of Somerset Waste Partnership, said: "This is an important step towards our aim of recycling over 50 per cent of our household waste and we are all delighted to be working with ECT, which has an excellent track record on recycling and waste management.

"The new contract provides excellent value for money, with a projected saving of £1.7 million, and includes running trials next Spring to add cardboard and plastic bottles to the kerbside, which will be another great boost to recycling in Somerset."

Somerset is already one of the top performing councils in the country, with an overall recycling rate of 47 per cent. For more information and advice on recycling in Somerset visit www.recyclesomerset.info