Nine Greater Manchester boroughs have widened the remits of their plastic recycling to include more items.
Residents in Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford can now recycle pots, tubs and trays within their mixed recycling. Previously only plastic bottles could be recycled at home.
The change has come after upgrades to Greater Manchester’s materials recovery facility (MRF) in south Manchester and a contract extension with Suez Recycling and Recovery UK.
Plastic films like crisp packets, bread bags, pet food pouches and carrier bags, still cannot be recycled and residents are asked to put these in residual waste for incineration.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is building a new MRF to be completed in the next three years which it said it hopes will allow for plastic films to be collected and recycled.
Hard plastics like garden furniture or children’s toys can be taken to any recycling site in Greater Manchester.
Councillor Tom Ross, portfolio lead for waste and recycling, said: “Signing the biggest waste management contract in Europe with Suez has given us the stability and confidence to invest in our recycling facilities. We’re already in the top five authorities in the UK for recycling rates and this will help us to continue leading the way.
“With the government’s Simpler Recycling Policy on the horizon, we have taken swift action to prepare for the coming changes, to ensure we’ll be compliant when the new rules come in.
“These upgrades will keep up our momentum on recycling, giving us time to build our new, cutting-edge materials recovery centre in Manchester while supporting residents to recycle more easily.”
National Recycle Week
The change comes at the start of National Recycle Week (14 October-20 October 2024).
Circular charity WRAP has today called for increased recycling when it comes to five commonly discarded items – yoghurt pots, cleaning product bottles, aerosols, toilet roll tubes and aftershave and perfume bottles.
The GMCA said that it is proud that – as of today (14 October 2024) all these items can now be recycled by its residents.
