RECYCLING sites in West Somerset and the rest of the county will open until 4pm on both Saturdays and Sundays and stay open later on weekdays from next April.
The changes are part of the transformation of Somerset waste services coming into effect in 2020 which will introduce extra weekly recycling and three-weekly rubbish collections in a move to reduce landfilling.
The changes agreed by the Somerset Waste Board start on Monday 1 April next year and include year-round 9am to 4pm weekend hours at all sites on Sundays as well as Saturdays and later week day closing - 6pm from April to September and 5pm October to March.
But reflecting low user numbers early in the day, all sites will start work at 9am, and the 6pm summer weekday closing will see an end to underused 7pm Monday evenings.
Dulverton, one of the sites with lowest use and highest cost per visit, will have fewer hours but will stop charging a £2 cash entry fee by April 2020.
Full details of all the changes to opening hours will be available on flyers at each site shortly, on the Somerset Waste Partnership website and social media.
Managing director Mickey Green said: “These improvements reflect what customers have told us they want, especially all sites opening Sunday afternoons and later summer evenings.
“Most importantly, they ensure all 16 sites stay open, and that each site’s hours carefully match the existing use and future needs as Somerset’s population and housing stock expands.”