Recycling Sites go cash free

Somerset’s 16 recycling sites will switch to operate cash-free and cheque-free from Friday 1 September with almost all payments taken only on credit, debit and charge cards. The only exceptions will be the £2 cash entry fees for Crewkerne and Dulverton community recycling sites, and paying at the Reuse Shop within Taunton (Priorswood) Recycling Centre. Enhancing efficiency, security and staff safety, payments will be accepted on Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards, Visa Electron and Diner’s Club, including contactless cards. The move follows many months of successful trials at both Chard and Taunton recycling sites since 2016. Among the card-only payments taken at all recycling sites will be for the materials brought in by residents but classified as non-household: gas bottles, soil, hardcore and tyres. And 10 sites take paid-for residents’ vehicle parts for recycling or disposal, while in a separate scheme, 10 sites accept businesses’ paid-for commercial waste, from timber to fridges. Plastic-only payments will also be taken for “Revive” soil conditioner composted from Somerset’s garden waste and sold by every recycling site at £4 for a bag and £10 for three bags. Payments for domestic asbestos and plasterboard will continue to be made online in advance at the Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) website.