Give us the lowdown

What a couple of weeks we have had here at R4GM HQ, we launched our Capital FM radio campaign to encourage residents of Greater Manchester to stick it in Right Bin, one lucky listener won an Ipad2, but it’s not over yet! Stay tuned  for a  further 2 Ipad2 give-aways over the next 8 weeks.

We launched our smart phone app on the android system, 85 people have downloaded the app for FREE already! What does it do? I hear you ask, well it’s a pocket rocket of information and useful tools. You can find your nearest recycling Centre, furniture re-use scheme, bike re-use project and much more.  Just go to ‘show route ‘ and hey presto you will have  a walking or driving route using GPS and Google maps, which tells you distance and time from your current location, to quote the meerkats - ‘simples’. It also offers leftover recipes at your fingertips from starters to deserts that can save you money and food waste, a double bonus.

We also had some welcome visitors from Beijing China to our state of the art facilities at Longley Lane, Sharston. In order to learn about the ground breaking way we treat waste here in Greater Manchester. The site tour included a look around the Materials Recovery Facility or ‘Murfy’ as we call it. This is the plant that sorts all of your mixed recycling into separate materials using magnets, laser eyes and other fandangled technologies. There is also a Recycling Centre at the site and a Mechanical Biological Treatment facility, which is a great alternative to landfill.

….and FINALLY our 3rd edition of the ‘I love recycling’ supplement appeared in the Manchester Evening News, jam-packed full of recycling tips, re-use activities, competitions and stories.

 What have you been up to theses past couple of weeks? Tell us your stories, we would love to hear from you. Stan Covell a resident from Bolton did just that, he got in touch on Facebook and told us about the unique way people on his street identify their bins. Stan does it Shakespeare ‘sytlee’. He writes poems and sticks them on his bin. Fantastic idea or what, intrigued well it just so happens we have the poem below:

There was a time now passed

When bottles made of glass

Once full of beer or pop

Would be returned to the shop

With a cash deposit made

When purchasing your refreshment

A cash return on the empties

Was part of your investment

But not so these days

Glass and plastic is thrown away

Discarded as worthless waste

We live in wasteful days

But glass and plastic bottles

Can be saved to be used again

Made in to new products

To serve man yet again

So it’s worth all your trouble

To sort out from the rubble

Bottles of plastic and glass

Once thrown out in the past

 It is said it’s a sin to waste

That what can be used again

So recycle all you can

To help your fellow man

Support your local community from the comfort of your old sofa

There is a new service in town and it wants your old furniture. From Friday 29^th July, Sinderland Road Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), in Altrincham, will accept donations of unwanted furniture for re-use. So if you are updating your furniture then why not donate your unwanted items by bringing them down to site. All donated furniture at Sinderland Road will be collected by Wesley Community Furniture , a charity based in Hulme and Fallowfield committed to supporting the local community; providing good quality reusable furniture to families on low incomes.

By donating your furniture you will:

• help reduce the amount of furniture being either recycled or being sent to landfill
• help others in your local community by providing them with second-hand goods.

Sinderland Road HWRC is now the sixth HWRC across Greater Manchester which accepts donations of unwanted furniture for re-use. This scheme is delivered in partnership with, Trafford Council and Wesley Community Furniture. So far existing schemes have diverted over 69 tonnes of furniture out of the waste stream for re-use, since the first scheme started in March 2010.

Most of us have unwanted items which will be accepted for donation including tables, chairs and sofas. Please remember that only clean items in good condition will be accepted, check here for the full list.

We will be expanding the furniture re-use scheme to a number of other HWRCs across Greater Manchester, so watch this space for updates and in the mean time  see what else you could do to reduce your waste.