The change is said to have been brought about by people finding new uses for unwanted items.
Households sent a total of 2,300 tonnes of items including smart tech, furniture and bric-a-brac to reuse projects, which was up 400 tonnes from the year before.
The council said that increased reuse rates saved an extra 5,493 tonnes of carbon in the 2023/2024 financial year. Councillor Richard Wilkins, executive member for transport and waste services, added: “Wherever possible we recycle waste as close to home as we can.”
“Together we’ve saved an extra 5,493 tonnes of carbon compared to last year – the equivalent of taking an additional 2,113 cars off the road for a year.”
The percentage of household waste collected that was sent for reuse, recycling or composting was said to be around 56%.
The council shared that the 145,000 tonnes of material sent for recycling, 96% remained in the UK, while 54% was recycled in Somerset itself.
Welcome alternatives
More than 21,000 tonnes of food waste were collected and sent to an anaerobic digestor in the county to be turned into biofertilizer. The gas released during the process is also collected for energy use. Nearly 50,000 tonnes of garden waste was recovered for composting at three sites around the county.
The remaining 42% of household waste was sent for energy recovery.
Subscribe for free