All 20 Household Waste and Recycling Centres across Greater Manchester are now open seven days a week, marking the end of temporary closures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic.
The recycling centres have been reopened in a phased and managed way to minimise queues, with recycling containers at the centres being available as and when recycling processors opened following the lockdown.
Recycle for Greater Manchester is still urging residents to only visit if it is essential, and social distancing measures will remain in place to keep the sites safe to use for visitors and staff. Two people from the same household are now able to leave their vehicle to carry large items. For information on what items of recycling can be taken to the recycling centres, please visit the Recycle for Greater Manchester website.
Councillor Andrew Western, Greater Manchester Green City Region Portfolio Lead, said: “Residents across Greater Manchester have been patient whilst we’ve reopened the recycling centres, and we are now at a point where we can open all 20 recycling centres. I’d like to thank everyone who’s used the centres responsibly during the phased reopening, following the safety measures and traffic management systems in place.
“By working together, we have been able to safely open the sites and are also now able to accept the majority of household waste. I would like to remind everyone that it is important to follow the social distancing measures in place on site, for both your own safety and that of the staff, as we are still not back to business as usual.”
Regulations on transit vans were lifted on Monday 29th June to allow residents with vans to bring household waste to the centres. However, vehicles with trailers are still not permitted to use the recycling centres.
The visit limits introduced in February this year remain in place, meaning cars can visit up to 52 times a year, vans under 3.5 tonnes can visit 18 times a year, and vans over 3.5 tonnes can visit 12 times a year. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and CCTV is in place across all sites to monitor vehicle visits.
The introduction of the access restriction policy in February at all of our 20 household waste recycling centres was in response to continuous illegal use of the sites by traders and businesses.
Any traders wanting to dispose of their waste should go to any of the seven weighbridges operated by SUEZ as trade waste isn’t accepted through the recycling centres. A new contactless payment system is being introduced for traders who do not have an account with SUEZ and PPE must be worn at all times.
Residents are urged that if they are having building work done by a trader, the trader is legally responsible for removing the waste. They should factor the cost of this waste removal into their quote and charge you accordingly. Residents should make sure that any traders have a valid waste carrier’s licence and that they provide details of where the waste will be taken for disposal.
Owned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority and operated by SUEZ UK, the network of 20 recycling centres provide the opportunity to recycle over 40 different types of waste.
For information on opening times and what you can take to the household waste recycling centres, visit the Recycle for Greater Manchester website.
