Manchester 's aim is to become a greener city. Where possible we are reducing, reusing and recycling our waste, rather than it going to a landfill site.

We are educating our children working with Eco Schools.  We also have an Environmental Business Pledge, an initiative solely for Manchester business to improve their local environment and environmental performance, achieve major cost savings and increase competitiveness.

The problem of waste disposal has been around for a very long time earning its place in the history books for playing its part in the Bubonic Plague, cholera and typhoid fever. 

We have been dealing with your rubbish for over 100 years, here are a few examples from the archives.

Refuse destructor

The refuse destructor was an early incinerator used for burning rubbish.  Rubbish was tipped into a chute and fed to a moving conveyor.  All re-usable material were removed by hand. The remainder would be burned. 

Excess steam from a destructor could generated sufficient power for the central heating system for a local housing estate.

Kitchen waste service

During the Second World War we ran a kitchen waste service and collected up to 284 tones of kitchen waste a month. All the waste food was cooked made into pudding bins and used as poultry feed.

Salvage appeal

The UK had to salvage all the materials they could for the war effort during the war.   We put salvage collection boxes on the streets of Manchester where people could donate items they no longer wanted or needed. The materials collected were used to make new fighter planes, weapons and ammunition.

Rag and bone men

The rag-and-bone men would travel around the streets of Manchester in a horse drawn cart collecting all types of reusable (furniture, textiles) and recyclable (scrap metals) household waste from homes.

Further photographs can be found in our libraries.