It’s about choosing to refuse single–use plastics and about the simple swaps to reduce the amount of plastic you use. Plastic is made from fossil fuels. Often single-use plastic is low quality and harder to recycle. The best thing to do is to avoid it completely where we can.
For more ideas visit PlasticFreeJuly.org
Anyone can start one in their neighbourhood and the good news is there’s funding available to help you. The Renew Community Fund is open for applications until 6th August.
Here are some more tips to help you get started:
Visit your local repair café
It’s really useful to experience first hand how a repair café is run and see the processes involved, like signing people in and allocating the person who does the fix. Repairers are a friendly bunch and helping is in their nature, they’ll be happy to answer your questions about starting your own café. Send them a message and pop down.
Find a space
You’ll need somewhere that can fit in several repair stations. Church halls, community centres and council buildings are popular venues for repair cafes. Most run once a month for 2 hours, often on a weekend morning. It might be worth checking the dates of other repair cafes in your area so you don’t clash.
Get funding
There are a few costs involved in starting a repair café. On average, you’ll need around £1,500 to cover the first year. Things like venue hire, insurance, small bits of equipment, printing posters and advertising on social media will need paying for. The Renew Community fund offers grants between £1,000-£20,000, just make sure you apply before 6th August!
Find volunteers
Volunteers are the heart of repair cafes; they give their time and expertise every month. Social media – especially Facebook – is a great place to put a call out for volunteers. You could also put posters on community noticeboards and at libraries. Remember to explain what skills you’re after; it’s not just people who do the fixing, the front of house people who check people in are vital members of every repair café team.
Advertise your repair café
Create a free Facebook page for your new repair café so people know when and where it is. Share the info on local neighbourhood group pages and ask people to spread the word. You can also put physical posters up around the neighbourhood to tell people it’s happing. Get added to the free Repair Directory where all the Greater Manchester cafes are listed.
Now you’re ready to join the repair revolution and help your community keep the stuff they love for longer!
If you’ve been observing your Lent fast, you’re likely eagerly anticipating a well-earned chocolate treat and some quality family time. Easter is a season of chocolates, hot cross buns, and the classic roast dinner are all part of the celebration. However, these delights often generate a considerable amount of waste.
Here are our top tips to help you enjoy a greener Easter by minimising waste and recycling wherever possible.
The variety of Easter eggs available nowadays is truly impressive, with countless sizes and flavours to choose from. Fortunately, enjoying these treats needn’t be accompanied by feelings of guilt about waste, as most packaging can be recycled.
Many Easter treats like hot cross buns, vegetables, and sweets are sold in plastic packaging. Soft plastics aren’t currently accepted in your household recycling bin, but most supermarkets do offer soft plastic collection points. Store your soft plastics until you can take them to the supermarket. A bread bag makes a handy storage solution it may look small, but it can fit a surprising amount of wrappers.
Organising an Easter egg hunt is a highlight of the holiday for many families. To make it more sustainable, try using reusable eggs. These can be filled with small treats or toys and, once found, stored away for future years, reducing waste and adding to the fun year after year.
Nothing quite beats a Sunday roast, and Easter is the perfect opportunity to gather loved ones for what might be the best roast of the year. To avoid unnecessary waste, keep these tips in mind:
If you’re planning some spring cleaning during the holiday, remember you can take any excess waste to your local tip.
Our Recycling Centres are open as usual over the Bank Holiday, from 8am-8pm.
Exceptions include:
– Salford Road which is open 10am-4pm on Bank Holidays
– Newton Heath Recycling Centre (Reliance Street) which is still temporarily closed for improvement works.
Here’s everything you need to know to stay sustainable during your Seder and spring cleaning.
This quick guide explains everything you want to know about recycling and dealing with waste this Passover. Making the most of your recycling bins at home frees up space in your general waste bin for those non-recyclable items.
We can now recycle plastic pots, tubs and trays at home during Passover. Plastic food packaging such as meat and fruit trays, chocolate tubs and yoghurt pots can all be recycled in your mixed recycling bin at home. Just make sure to give them a quick rinse before binning them – it helps keep your bin nice and clean.
Find out more about recycling plastics at home, including how to save space in your bin.
Bleach bottles, spray bottles, aerosols and more go in your mixed recycling bin to be recycled into new products. If lids can be easily removed, put them into the general waste bin as they can disrupt the separation process at our recycling facility. If lids are attached, then recycle the whole bottle.
When cleaning out your kitchen, old food can go straight into your food and garden bin. All our food and garden waste gets turned into compost in just 6 weeks, and that compost is used to grow more food locally.
All food can go in the food and garden bin, including lamb bones, eggshells and any leftovers you might have from your Seder.
Take extra waste and larger items to your local recycling centre
Too much waste for your bin? Your local recycling centre (the tip) is open 8am till 8pm every day. It’s free to use and you can recycle over 40 different types of materials when you visit.
If you’re visiting in a car, just turn up and tell staff what you need to dispose of, if you’re using a van you’ll need to get a free van permit before your visit.
Not sure where your nearest tip is? Find your closest recycling centre.
Renew collects bikes, furniture and other household items donated at recycling centres and sells them to raise money for charities and community groups in Greater Manchester. Just take your stuff along to the tip and the staff will happily direct you to the donation container. Before you go, Find out what can be donated.
Chag Sameach!
Plastic is made from fossil fuels. Often single-use plastic is low quality and harder to recycle. The best thing to do is to avoid it completely where we can.
READ MORE
Do you want to help your neighbours fix their stuff to stop it being chucked, why not start your own repair café?
READ MORE
Top tips to help you enjoy a greener Easter by minimising waste and recycling wherever possible.
READ MORE
If you’re preparing to observe in the Holy month of Ramadan this year you are probably busy planning on self-reflection, donating and family time. And eating, of course. Here’s our guide to staying sustainable this Ramadan…
Food, glorious food!There’s often so much food about when breaking your fast at iftar. Avoid letting anything go to waste by planning your meals in advance. Make a shopping list and only buy the foods you need. If you do end up with leftovers, store them properly to keep them fresher for longer or share with family, friends and the community to multiply your blessings this Ramadan.
If you’re eating less and find you have more leftovers than usual, why not use them to make new meals? Get creative by making a biriyani from leftover veggies or why not try making a pizza from your old naans? We’ve got loads of hacks to make the most of your food.
Welcoming guests to your home means you might be buying more than usual when you cook. Don’t to forget to recycle items like tomato cans, yogurt tubs, date trays and bottles of pop in your mixed recycling bins. Just make sure you give them a rinse to stop your bins from smelling.
This month is the time to get together and celebrate, if you are planning on making your home more festive, why not try to make your own decorations? You can make some great paper moons. Just start by searching for origami templates online. You can also find downloadable colouring pages that will bring your family together and can add a splash of colour into your house!
If you chose to decorate, consider saving those decorations for next year or recycle them in the right bins.
Generating more rubbish than usual? Don’t forget about your local tip. They’re free to visit and with over 20 across Greater Manchester, there’s one near you. Find your local tip. You’ll find special places for lots of items you can’t put in your bins at home like batteries, clothing, electricals and even cooking oil. Taking it to the tip means we can recycle it and turn it into something new.
Find us on our socials and tell us what your waste-less top tips are, we love to hear what inspires you to reduce, reuse and recycle!
Why not consider buying preloved gifts this Christmas? You can get low priced bikes, kitchenware and so much more from our Renew shops. New to Renew? Sign up to the mailing list, you’ll get 10% off everything in our online shop
We all have loads of stuff at Christmas. More stuff means there’s more to recycle. Don’t forget all those extra plastic pots for cream or custard, mince pie trays and Christmas pudding or sweetie tubs can be recycled in your mixed recycling bin at home. If they’re grubby, just given them a little rinse and then recycle. You’ll stay on Santa’s nice list for sure.
Sick of the sight of wrapping paper? Why not swap it for reusable cloth or gift bags this year. If you do go traditional, remember that not all wrapping paper is actually paper. Some is made with plastic or foil. To check if it can be recycled, scrunch the paper into a ball and it stays scrunched, you can recycle it. If it bounces back, it contains plastic and should go in your general waste bin.
In the UK, each year we throw away £42million of unwanted presents! If you receive a gift that’s not something you would use, you don’t need to bin it. You could donate it to charity, regift it later in the year, or sell it online. Remember one person’s trash is someone else’s treasure.
Boxing Day is the busiest day of the year at our recycling centres, with thousands of visitors. So before you travel, have a think if you really need to go, or if your visit could wait a few days. All our 20 recycling centres are open every day except Christmas day and New Year’s Day.
Think you might be using a van to get rid of excess rubbish? Don’t forget to apply for your free van permit – you won’t be able to visit without one. The last day to apply for a van permit before Christmas is 19th December 2025.
Whether your offspring are moving out for the first time, or coming back for summer, these hacks will save you time and money.
Things they no longer want can be loved by someone else. Donate clothes to textile banks and charity shops. Donate furniture, sports equipment and bric-a-brac to Renew at your local recycling centre. Renew refurbishes the pre-loved items and sells them to raise money for good causes across Greater Manchester. You can also bag a pre-loved bargain at their physical and online shops.
Boxes are an essential moving tool but there’s no need to waste money on brand new ones. Instead, ask your local supermarket for cardboard packaging boxes which they’ll normally give you for free. When you’re done you can collapse the boxes and save them for the next move or recycle them in your paper and card bin.
When cleaning out kitchen cupboards, cans, tins and unopened non-perishable food can be donated to your local food bank. Make sure the food is in date and anything that’s expired or opened can be recycled in your food and garden bin.
Instead of wrapping fragile items in sheets of bubble wrap, use towels, blankets or clothes to protect them during the move. This zero-waste hack avoids using single-use plastic and it’s free.
Some charities will collect things like bed frames and furniture from you. If the items are damaged or can’t be reused, you can arrange a bulky waste collection with the local council.
A blog by our friends at Stitched Up
We’ve launched a brand new Repair Café! The Boggart Hole Clough Repair Café is a collaboration between Stitched Up, the In Our Nature Programme and Lakeside CIC to bring the right to repair to the community of Blackley. Come to the Lakeside Café between 10-12, have a brew, and enjoy the beautiful view of the lake.
The first Repair Café was in Amsterdam in 2009, and now there are over 2,500 running worldwide. Volunteers are really the star of the show at Repair Cafés, so here’s 5 reasons why it’s awesome to volunteer at a Repair Café.
1. It saves money
Repair Cafés are run by volunteers, who love repairing and keeping items in use for longer. Instead of buying a new item to replace something broken, helping people mend their stuff for free saves a tonne of money. With the ongoing cost of living crisis, it’s more important than ever that our money goes as far as possible. By volunteering at a Repair Café, you can directly help your community save money.
2. Opportunity to skill share and learn skills
At a Repair Cafe, people might bring broken electronics, textiles, homewares or even bikes. With the knowledge of our volunteers, they will learn to fix these items so they can remain in circulation for longer. You don’t need to be an expert to volunteer! If you know how to sew on a button, or how to tighten a screw, Repair Cafes would really benefit from your time and skills. The great thing about the skill sharing aspect of Repair Cafes is that everyone’s knowledge is collectivised for the greater good. Plus, you’ll likely learn new skills from fellow volunteers which you can take forward in your own life.
3. Play a part in your community
Volunteering with people in your community has a profoundly positive impact on one’s own wellbeing, as well as helping out others. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) published a report on volunteering, where they found that nine out of ten volunteers said they had met friends through volunteering. Similarly, around two thirds of volunteers agreed that volunteering made them feel less isolated. Playing a part in your community through volunteering is fantastic for both your wellbeing, and that of other participants.
4. It’s cool to see inside broken objects
This one is best explained by a photo. Look at how cool this hedge trimmer looks when you get to see its cross section! There’s always something interesting to look at and get involved in at a Repair Cafe, and no two months will be the same!
5. Make a positive environmental impact
When an item is broken, it can be hard to dispose of sustainably. Charity shops can’t take broken things, and many items have a number of different materials that are hard to separate and recycle.
Repairing items means that the embodied resources that went into that item are not wasted. Every item repaired makes a difference. For example, by keeping your clothing for an extra nine months, instead of buying new, you reduce their environmental impact by 20-30%. Also, encouraging a new attitude to broken things through Repair Cafes helps your community act more sustainably.
How to volunteer
Get in touch with Boggart Hole Clough repair café:
Email: hello@stitchedup.coop
Phone: 0161 881 7141
Ask your local repair café if they need volunteers. Find your local on the repair directory
We went behind the scenes at our recycling centre in Wythenshawe to see the work being done to enhance biodiversity.
Emma, the Regional Sustainability Champion for SUEZ UK prioritises positive choices for the environment at multiple waste and recycling sites. Emma’s biology degree gives her an in-depth understanding of how best to encourage nature in the space, here’s how she did it:
1: The ‘secret’ wood
The first thing you see when arriving at Longley Lane recycling centre is the woodland the runs the entire length of the site. On closer inspection we found a dense habitat with thick foliage, and a canopy of trees for nesting birds.
“Each spring the forest floor is covered in bluebells which attract bees who work to continue pollinating the plants at the site”, Emma explained.
“Any trees that fall or are felled get chopped up and piled to create hiding places for insets. The rotting trees provide the perfect base for fungi to bloom in the shady depths of the wood.”
2: Reuse instead of single-use
Keeping items in use for as long as possible and stopping them being wasted is vital to reduce our impact on the environment. When chairs and other furniture used by the staff need repairs, Emma sends them to Renew to get refurbished so they can continue being used.
Cutting down on single use items has a big impact on the amount of waste produced. The recycling centres are busy industrial sites and use lots of plastic zip ties to secure fences, signs and more. Swapping the 120 single use zip ties used each month for reusable versions reduced plastic waste and saved £200 in 1 year.
3: Powerful plants
The industrial site is peppered with greenery. Carefully considered plants are an important tool for encouraging nature. But it’s not just pretty flowers, clusters of nettles are dotted around the site. These might not be the first choice for landscaping, but they are crucially important for butterflies. The insects choose the prickly plants to lay their eggs, with both red admirals and peacock varieties preferring nettles to any other plant.
Large wooden planters hold a huge range of plants to keep insects happy. The bees are spoilt for choice with bluebells and fragrant lavender plants. Whilst birds including finches and starlings enjoy a seasonal buffet of blackberries.
4: Award winning loos
When looking to improve sustainability, even the toilets are scrutinised. Emma and her colleague Sadie, Local Sustainability Champion, realised that older toilets on the site were using too much water when flushed. As the toilets were functional, replacing them would have been a waste. So the team researched how to combat the soggy problem in the most sustainable way.
They discovered a simple device that limits the amount of water that gets flushed. After fitting the device into 6 toilets they saved a tidal 10,000L of water in just 1 year.
For the innovative idea the pair won a SUEZ ‘Best New Idea’ award in 2023.
5: Living roofs
Making room for nature means considering it when building. When the recycling centre needed new wheelie bin storage, they wanted the new piece of equipment to be as sustainable as possible.
Starting with the materials, choosing natural wood uses fewer natural resources and has the least impact on the environment when compared to man-made materials.
Realising there would be several square feet of space on top of the store inspired the sustainability champions to create a living roof. This is essentially a planting area that runs the length of the structure. Plants, mosses and grasses will be added and will become a sanctuary for local insects.
‘Small changes can have a real impact and are really easy to do. Things like not mowing the grass and letting brambles grow encourages wildlife and is something anyone can try.’ Emma says.
