Thousands to recycle plastic and cardboard

Thousands of South Manchester and Wythenshawe residents will be able to recycle plastic bottles and cardboard thanks to a trial service being launched by Manchester City Council.

Households in Chorlton and Whalley Range, and in Sharston and Woodhouse Park, will be able to recycle the new materials for the first time, as part of the pilot collection starting on the week of Monday, July 21.

More than 9,000 residents will benefit from the new service, and will be able to keep the recycling bins they already use, by simply putting plastic bottles in with their glass and cans, and cardboard items - such as Yellow Pages and food and drink cartons - in with their paper.

Residents living in the trial areas will be sent leaflets from Wednesday, July 9, explaining exactly how the new services will work and when their recycled waste will be collected. There will be three trial collection rounds in Chorlton and Whalley Range and two in the Wythenshawe area.

Residents in these areas who live in flats or have a kerbside box recycling service will also be asked what type of improvements they would like to see, and the City Council will work with them to introduce new tailor-made services.

The trial follows the City Council's recycling consultation, which more than 22,000 Mancunians responded to after it was launched in February.

These responses have now been condensed into a range of suggested future improvements, and residents will give their views on these suggestions to determine exactly how the recycling service will develop.

Councillor Richard Cowell, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for the Environment, said: "Our waste and recycling consultation has shown very clearly that Manchester residents want to recycle more, particularly other materials such as cardboard and plastics.

"I know other parts of the city are also keen to have these new services, but we need to make sure we provide them in the right way. That's why the City Council will start by trialing the service in a limited area.

"I am delighted that in the citywide consultation more than 80 per cent of residents wanted cardboard and plastic recycling - as far as I'm concerned, that's a huge 'yes'. When the consultation was launched, we said we'd respond to residents' views, and that is what we are doing with this trial.

"However, I do want to stress that the responses on cardboard and plastics are only one part of the views expressed in the consultation - so watch this space as there's much more to come."

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