Build the future – A view from a SUEZ apprentice

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An industry truly essential to building a better future is the waste and recycling industry. SUEZ recycling and recovery UK operate the waste and resources contracts on behalf of Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to maximise the value of household waste and increasing recycling. A great example of this is a brand-new mattress recycling facility which splits the mattress into its 20 or so recyclable component parts and sends them out to local businesses to reuse the materials.

One person who took the opportunity to retrain as an apprentice with SUEZ is Ben Jebb, who worked in retail for ten years before joining SUEZ as an apprentice and feels like he’s found his calling in the industry. Ben works at one of the household waste recycling centres.

Ben said: “Working in the waste industry is really positive. I’ve always been an eco-person and it’s really interesting seeing what happens to all the waste. It’s great to learn about how and why all the data is collected alongside the processing.

“I would be happy to move to other parts of the business but my aim is career progression. I spent ten years in retail before this apprenticeship and found that it wasn’t for me and there was no chance of career progression. So I am looking to work my way up within the waste industry and am looking at getting in to a manager role as soon as possible.

“I am already up to date with all the training for my apprenticeship so can look to do extra training to support my role. I spent about six weeks working on the transfer loading station due to COVID-19 which I really enjoyed. It’s new skills and extra training which I really appreciated.

“What I enjoy most about my current role is having all the different conversations with members of the public. There are lots of members of the public throwing away clothes right now (due to COVID restrictions) and I encourage them to keep them until they can be recycled rather than throwing them in the general waste bins.”

You can find out more about apprenticeships within Greater Manchester by visiting the GMCA website (opens in new tab).

For more information about SUEZ UK please visit their website (opens in new tab).

Recycle for Greater Manchester