Waste facility worker overlooking a stream of waste on a conveyor belt

What we do


The Waste and Resources Team (formerly the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority GMWDA) plays a key role in managing Greater Manchester’s household waste and recycling.  Working in partnership with the nine local councils in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford, we set strategic targets to reduce waste arisings, increase reuse and recycling and develop plans to reduce the carbon impact of the waste management operation to meet the Greater Manchester’s target of becoming a carbon neutral city region by 2038.

Each of the nine councils operates a standard 4 bin system collecting recycling and waste in wheeled bins as follows:

  • Paper and cardboard
  • Mixed recycling
  • Food and garden waste
  • General waste

GMCA receives funding from a levy on the nine Greater Manchester local authorities. The levy funds the operation of a network of waste and recycling management facilities in Greater Manchester.

 

Waste and Recycling Facilities

In 2019 GMCA awarded SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK two contracts which covers the operation and maintenance of 35 waste facilities located on 27 sites including the 20 household waste recycling centres.

The waste treatment facilities include.

Aerial view of a Household Waste Recycling Centre  View of containers at a Household Waste Recycling Centre  View of containers and parking spaces at a Household Waste Recycling Centre

 

8 transfer loading stations

The council vehicles deliver recycling and waste collected from households across the nine council areas.  The vehicle goes over the weighbridge and tips off the recycling or waste which is bulked up according to the waste materials.

Mixed recycling is delivered to the materials recovery facility at Longley Lane in Manchester. This process sorts and separates the recycling (plastic bottles, glass bottle sand jars, aluminium and steel cans, aerosols) into different materials ready for recycling.

Four mechanical treatment and reception facilities process the general waste that cannot be recycled. The waste is shredded and compacted and loaded onto a train which travels to an Energy from Waste facility in Runcorn.

Some of the general waste is sent to the Raikes Lane Energy from Waste facility where the waste is burnt to generate steam which turns a turbine to generate electricity.

Paper and cardboard is visually inspected for contamination, bulked up and delivered straight to a paper mill in Partington, Trafford for processing. It does not go through a waste treatment facility first.

Food and garden waste is delivered to an In-Vessel composting facility in Todmorden for industrial composting.

GMCA has a solar farm at the Salford Road site in Bolton. This was built in 2015, this 2.8 hectare site has 8,400 individual solar panels, and has the ability to generate 2.1 MW of electricity. The power generated is used on-site and exported to the national grid.

The Waste and Resources team also manage 2 closed landfill sites at Bredbury, Stockport and Chichester Street, Rochdale. The aftercare includes monitoring the leachate and gas and improving biodiversity by maintaining the land, planting trees and improving habitats for wildlife.

Waste committee

The waste and recycling committee oversees the effective management of the waste management contracts. View the meetings (external website).