Greater Manchester Waste

did you know?


		Every year, 8 billion plastic bags are given away by supermarkets and shops. This is equivalent to over 130 bags for every person in the UK. These will take up to 450 years to degrade.

		A forest as big as Wales is needed every year to supply all the paper for the UK.

		The average person throws away 74kgs of organic waste a year, equivalent to 1077 banana skins.

		3.2 billion aluminium cans are still going into landfill (approximately 50,000 tonnes), equivalent to burying the Titanic every year.

FAQ

FAQ | INFORMATION ON ASBESTOS | HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY

Q. Where can I get more information on health and safety queries ?

A. The Health and Safety Executive provide free leaflets with clear and simple advice on a range of health and safety issues e.g. Asbestos and pesticides. You can access them on line from this link. www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/leaflets.htm

Q. Why do I sometimes need to wait to get onto my local site ?

A. If large vehicles are manouvering we may ask you to wait outside where it is much safer. Everyone is now recycling more and whilst there are more facilities available, at times, especially during warm weather the sites become busy and you may have to wait. However, plans to redevelop the sites and alleviate the congestion are underway. Up to date information can be found on the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority website which can be accessed via. www.gmwda.gov.uk/news.htm

Q. Why is it important that I don’t put plastic bags in with other waste e.g. green, wood or rubble? A. Plastic bags are classified as “contamination” during recycling and have to be manually removed by our staff. Also our green waste goes through a process to create compost, consequently anything mixed in with this will cause contamination of the compost.

Q. Why have I been asked to go to a different site ?

A. There could be a number of reasons for this e.g.

Some of the smaller sites do not have the facilities to accept certain types of waste e.g. Asbestos.
Our staff are not allowed to open height barriers if you have a high sided vehicle.
If you are a trader and therefore pay to dispose of your waste not all of the sites have a weighbridge, or a licence to accept trade waste.

Q. Why can’t I smoke at the site?

A. Waste is highly flammable and a discarded cigarette could cause a fire.

Q. Why should I segregate the waste before I come to the site ?

A. The site may be busy with cars and other machinery it is not an ideal place to sort through your waste