The festive season is, sadly, beginning to wind down, and over the coming days we’ll all be stripping the decorations off our Christmas trees.
For those of us who went for a real tree this year, there’s always the concern of how to actually get rid of the thing once the celebrations are done.
You can take your tree to a local recycling centre, but if you don’t fancy a boot full of pine needles, local councils are also offering collections.
Just remember to use all traces of tinsel, baubles, fairy lights and whatever else you’ve used to decorate.
Here’s what you need to know for each Greater Manchester borough.
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Manchester
It’s dead easy to recycle your real Christmas tree if you live in Manchester.
Just leave it next to your green bin on any of the green bin collection days in January and they’ll take it away for you.
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Salford
Real Salford Christmas trees need to go in the garden waste bin, which is the one with the pink lid.
As with all the boroughs, it needs to be chopped up so the lid shuts, with no branches thicker than your wrist.
Wigan
You can stick your Christmas tree in the green bin in Wigan, chopping it down into pieces if you need to.
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Wigan Council will accept any branches smaller than 15cm in diameter, so if your tree is bigger than that, you’ll need to dispose of it another way.
Bolton
Bolton Council will come and collect, and recycle, your real tree – but for a fee.
For £16, they’ll collect your tree. Just call 01024 336632 before Friday January 7 to arrange.
Bury
Bury locals – you’re going to need to get your Christmas tree into your brown bin, unless you fancy a trip to a recycling centre.
It needs to fit inside with the lid fully closed before the council will collect it.
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Rochdale
In Rochdale, you can put the base of your tree in your dark green bin, then chop up the rest and put it in the brown bin (as long as the lid can close).
The trunk needs to be thinner than your wrist, as a guideline – if it’s bigger than that, you’ll have to take it to a recycling point, which are listed here.
Oldham
If you live in Oldham, you’re another one who can recycle your tree just in the same way you would your normal garden waste.
Just chop it up and stick it in your green recycling bin ready for collection as normal.
Tameside
In Tameside, real trees can just be left out with your brown bins ready for recycling – with collections set to take place on January 10.
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The council will also collect your additional recyclable waste (and we’ve all got tonnes of that after Christmas), as long as it’s left out with your black or blue bins in a clear or labelled bag.
Stockport
Stockport is another council that’s happy to take away and recycle your real Christmas tree as they would all your garden waste.
Chop it up to compost in your green bin.
Trafford
Trafford Council will no longer take your tree away if it’s left beside your bin, so you’re going to have to chop it up and stick it in your green bin.
The lid needs to close and all decorations and bases need to be removed (they can go in your grey bin if you don’t want to reuse them next year).
Featured image: Flickr
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Liam Gallagher says he’ll ‘gig in Lidl’ if Co-op Live still isn’t ready – and they sound pretty game for it
Danny Jones
Following the ongoing palaver with Co-op Live, Liam Gallagher has joked that he’d happily play his scheduled gigs in a Lidl if the arena still isn’t ready – at least we think he’s joking…
With Liam Gallagher having been named as one of the first acts booked to play Co-op Live last year, many are now wondering whether the venue will even by June, with the former Oasis frontman set to play four Definitely Maybe 30th-anniversary sets. That being said, he’s come up with a solution if not.
Vintage LG, we’ll give him that.
Obviously a bit of a tongue-in-cheek quip at the venue being sponsored by a supermarket and convenience store chain, it could have been any other competitor that the ever-witty youngest Gallagher brother picked but it somehow made it extra funny that he chose a budget brand like Lidl.
However, with the 51-year-old already having fun with stunts like voicing the tannoys on the Metrolink last year, for instance, we wouldn’t put it past him to take this joke a little further.
Better still, not that we’re getting carried away or anything but Lidl themselves seem pretty keen on the idea too; they even spent the time to build an entire setlist for the fictional show. Fair play.
Can you imagine? Liam Gallagher swapping the occasional tambourine shake for beeps from a barcode scanner as he moves back and forth on the conveyor belt. We know it’s absolute nonsense and we definitely shouldn’t be even remotely considering it… BUT it’s the stuff of dreams and strange things have happened.
A lot of stranger things have happened this week alone. As for the latest with Co-op Live, the Chairman and CEO of key-backers Oak View Group, Tim Leiweke, issued a full statement sharing his “sincere apologies”and insisting that they understand “there is work to be done to rebuild your trust in us.”
With the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Peter Kay, The Black Keys and more having their gigs pulled by the venue due to numerous issues, including an air conditioning unit falling from the ceiling, fans are understandably fearful that other upcoming events could face delays or general misfortune.
Much like the venue itself, we imagine we’ll be playing catch-up on this whole saga for the foreseeable, but here’s a recap of the story so far:
Featured Images — Lidl GB/Exit Festival (via Flickr)/The Manc Group
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Gavin and Stacey will return with a 2024 Christmas special for its final episode
Danny Jones
After some pretty big rumblings earlier this year, it’s finally been confirmed that Gavin and Stacey will be returning for a Christmas special this year and what will be its last-ever episode.
The beloved British comedy last aired back in 2019 with their previous Christmas special and fans of the show have been crying out for more ever since.
Well, it turns out they’ll be getting just one more go around the block as co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones revealed that they have now finished writing their third and final Xmas special which will tie a festive bow on the trio of series which started all the way back in 2007.
Sharing a picture of the script on social media, the pair wrote: “Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James”.
However, what was actually going on was a bit of a red herring as she carefully chose to talk down any notions of another series but didn’t categorically dismiss the potential Christmas special.
In fact, she actually went on to add: “All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it, we would.”
And that’s exactly what they’ve done. Well played, Nessa.
As for details surrounding the final chapter in the Gavin and Stacey story, we have very few details at this stage but fans of the iconic show will already be wondering how they might pick up from where certain threads left off.
Production companies Baby Cow, Corden’s Fulwell 73 and Jones’ Tidy Productions are all behind the special and, given the momentous occasion, it will likely have a primetime slot on the TV guide when it finally rolls around this holiday season.
So get your remotes, baubles and bhunas at the ready because Gavin and Stacey is coming back for one last time and it’s sure to be a TV event that people all across the UK will remember for years to come.