COMMERCIAL waste will be welcomed at ten Somerset recycling sites from next Monday (December 8).

The new service for both refuse and recycling is expected to help mainly small firms, especially tradespeople who carry out work in other business premises or residents’ homes.

The changes will be introduced at Bridgwater (Saltlands), Frome, Minehead, Street, Wellington (Poole) and Yeovil Recycling Centres.

They will join Chard, Highbridge, Taunton (Priorswood) and Williton, which already offer the chargeable service.

Prices start at £1.25 for a builder’s sized rubble bag of cans or cardboard and go up to £256 for a Luton van full of refuse for landfill.

The full list of materials taken and their costs can be found on the Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) website and on leaflets from the 10 recycling sites.

Traders must contact site staff when they arrive to check costs, show their waste carrier licence, pay by cash, cheque or card, receive their receipt and, where appropriate, be given their legally-required waste transfer note to show they have fulfilled their duty of care.

The changes have been agreed by SWP and site operator Viridor with the Environment Agency, which licenses such waste facilities.

It is hoped that by making it easier and more convenient to dispose of such commercial waste, and, by checking that all tradespeople have a waste carrier licence, the improved service should also discourage fly-tipping.

To fulfil their legal duty of care, all traders and businesses must responsibly recycle or discard their waste, usually through a dedicated paid collection from their premises.

With Bridgwater, Frome, Minehead, Taunton and Yeovil sites open seven days a week from 8am to 4pm, Chard and Highbridge’s Tuesday and Wednesday closure, and Street, Wellington and Williton’s Thursday and Friday closure, on any day from Monday, at least seven sites will accept commercial waste.

A SWP spokesperson said: “These are significant changes designed to offer a comprehensive and cost effective range of waste services for local enterprises, especially those whose business means travelling across the county.”

Traders who need further guidance on what materials are accepted and the charges should ask staff at one of the 10 recycling centres or check: www.somersetwaste.gov.uk