From Monday, 14 October 2024, you can recycle a wider range of plastics in your mixed recycling bin (light green bin with a blue lid).
The government requires all councils in England to recycle the same materials by April 2026.
To meet this new requirement, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has upgraded its recycling facilities. These upgrades mean a wider range of plastics can be collected, sorted and recycled.
What can go in your mixed recycling bin from 14 October 2024
Plastics that can go in your mixed recycling bin include:
- Plastic pots: for example, yoghurt, soup, and cosmetics pots.
- Plastic tubs: for example, margarine, laundry powder, and chocolate tubs.
- Plastic trays: for example, meat trays and fruit and vegetable punnets, including black trays.
- Plastic bottles: for example, milk, pop, bleach, cleaning products, trigger sprays, and shampoo bottles.
Other materials you can already put in your mixed recycling bin:
- Glass bottles and jars
- Food tins and drink cans
- Aerosols
- Foil
Help us to recycle better
Use these tips and information to help us get recycling right.
Clean your recyclable items
All recyclable items must be clean and empty to stop other recyclable items from becoming contaminated.
Get more in your recycling bin
You can stack your plastic pots, tubs and trays inside each other in your bin to take up a lot less space. You can also squash your plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays to make more space in your bin. If you find your mixed recycling bin is still getting full, take a look at tips for reducing waste.
Get rid of hard plastic items
Hard plastics such as old plastic garden furniture or children’s toys that are broken or no longer usable can be recycled at your local recycling centre. Find a recycling centre.
Get rid of plastic bags and film
In Greater Manchester, we currently only recycle plastic pots, tubs, trays and plastic bottles. Other types of plastic packaging (such as plastic bags, bread bags, film and polystyrene) are made of lower-grade plastic or made up of layers of different polymers which are difficult to separate and recycle. For that reason, plastic bags and film are currently collected in the general waste bin, which is sent by rail to an energy-waste plant in Runcorn where it is burned to generate electricity.
Recycling if you live in a flat or apartment
If you live in a flat or apartment, where you share recycling bins with your neighbours, you can now recycle plastic pots, tubs and trays in the mixed recycling bin. The signage and stickers on the bin may not change straight away but these will be updated from October 2024.
Disposing of plastic lids
Lids from plastic bottles fall off the bottles during the separating process and end up getting mixed in with the glass which can ruin the glass recycling. If you can easily remove a lid from a plastic bottle, please remove it and place it in your general waste bin. If the lid is attached to the bottle, make sure it is securely fastened before recycling it. Large lids such as butter tubs and ice cream can be recycled.
Take a tour and learn more about recycling
You can book a site tour of the Materials Recovery Facility, based in South Manchester, to find out what happens to your household waste, see recycling in action, learn about renewable energy and more. Recycle for Greater Manchester site tours and visits.
Understand the numbers on plastic containers
The little numbers in a triangle that you see on the bottom of rigid plastics are a 'resin identification code'. The symbol tells you what type of plastic the item is made from. It does not tell you if it is recyclable or not.
What goes in your other bins
- Paper and cardboard bin (blue bin): newspapers, magazines, cardboard boxes, packaging, junk mail, envelopes, Tetra Pak, pizza boxes (no food), books, greeting cards, and wrapping paper (no glitter).
- Food and garden waste (brown bin): grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, small branches, flowers, plants, all food waste, teabags, coffee grounds, fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish.
- General waste (dark green bin): nappies, sanitary products, soft plastics, crisp packets, pet food pouches, carrier bags, compostable packaging, tissues, kitchen rolls, cat litter, and hard plastic (like plant pots).
More information