The scheme making millions for the homeless and keeping waste out of landfill
Andy Burnham has hailed a recycling scheme which has resulted in waste goods from Greater Manchester households heading to landfill plummet from 20 per cent to 0.5pc and brought in more than £3m for his charity initiatives.
The city region mayor was visiting the Renew Hub at Trafford Park, where unwanted items are stored before they are repaired and upcycled and made available to people at affordable prices. He tried his hand at upholstering and saw how top-of-the-range bicycles which had been dumped were being turned into affordable bikes for the less well-off.
Other items included furniture like settees and chairs, TVs, and electrical goods. It’s an initiative that was born out of the waste contract between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the contractor SUEZ forged several years ago.
Mr Burnham was also there to receive a £100,000 donation towards his charity – the A Bed Every Night (ABEN) scheme. Since 2021, more than 400,000 have been recycled through the Renew Hub.
After being restored at Trafford Park, the items are later made available for sale to the public at Woodhouse Lane Recycling Centre in Altrincham; Arkwright Street Recycling Centre in Oldham and at Boysnope Wharf in Irlam.
During a visit to the Renew Hub, Mr Burnham hailed it as an ‘exemplar’ to the rest of the UK as a recycling initiative and a ‘first for Greater Manchester’. He said: “I was amazed when I walked through the door of the Renew Hub.
“It’s a much-hidden gem in the heart of Greater Manchester. People are working wonders here with stuff that would otherwise have gone to waste in times gone by. And it’s all come about because of the partnership we have with SUEZ. Ten years ago in Greater Manchester about a fifth of waste going tin the recycling centres – 20pc – was going to landfill.
“Now, that is less than 1pc, in fact 0.5pc. That is an incredible turnaround, and the benefits that are coming from the waste that we’re not throwing away, are that it’s being reused and giving people goods they can afford, jobs for people, training opportunities for apprenticeships. This is recycling in its fullest sense.”
The scheme has generated £2.6m for the ABEN scheme and a further £1.2m for other programmes to help refugees and for hostels and the prevention of homelessness, said Fran Darlington-Pollock, chief executive of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Mr Burnham added: “People are coming here [from all over the UK] to see what we’ve done.”