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
Christmas tree collections are running across Greater Manchester. Credit: Unsplash
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
Credit: Unsplash
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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Adventurous cat caught taking a train from Yorkshire to Manchester Airport
Daisy Jackson
Train conductors have reunited an adventurous senior cat with her owners after she was caught taking a train all the way to Manchester Airport.
15-year-old Angel was discovered on board an hour-long TransPennine Express service from West Yorkshire to the airport.
The black-and-white moggy had been strolling along the train making friends with passengers on board, following conductor Will Saunders through the carriages.
It turns out Angel is something of a local legend in Brighouse, and has been caught riding rail replacement buses in the past too, as well as making herself at home in the local pub.
On this occasion, she fancied herself a little holiday and hopped on board the 3.55am service from Brighouse to Manchester Airport.
Will kept a close eye on the gorgeous cat all the way to Manchester Airport, where they settled her into a cardboard box at the station.
Will then took Angel home to Stockport for the night to keep her safe, later discovering a phone number on Angel’s collar.
He and his partner then drove Angel all the way back home to Brighouse.
Will Saunders, conductor at TPE, said: “As a cat lover myself, I couldn’t leave her to fend for herself. She was so calm and confident on the train – it was like she’d done it before!
“I’m just glad we could keep her safe and get her back home. She’s clearly a much-loved cat.”
Andrew McClements, Customer Experience & Transformation Director at TPE, added: “Our teams are used to helping customers reach their destinations, but this was definitely one of our more unusual passengers.
“We’re just glad we could make sure this adventurous feline made it home safely.”
Now back where she belongs, Angel’s tale shows that even the most curious traveller can count on TPE to help them land on their paws.
Mulligans are making butties with the team behind some of the best sandwiches in Manchester
Danny Jones
We feel like we say this almost every time they set up one of these crossovers, but Bada Bing might have just hit it out of the park with their latest collaboration, as they’re teaming up with beloved Irish bar Mulligans to create what could be the sandwich of the century.
In case you’re wondering where we’ll be when this butty becomes available, we’ll be in the legendary Manchester pub, clutching at least three of these while asking the live band to play The Sopranos theme tune in full Celtic reel fashion.
Yes, two of our very favourite places in the city centre are teaming up not just for a one-off special, the Deansgate boozer – widely considered one of the best Irish bars (if not THE best) in Manchester – is actually going to be supplying the crucial ingredient in their limited-time menu item.
Teasing the collab earlier this week, the Bada Bing boys roped in Mulligans owner, Pádraig Brady, to play his role in the announcement that quickly went viral.
Now, in case you weren’t already salivating at the mere thought of it, wait until you hear what concoction they have come up with.
Simply titled ‘Split the B’ (nice), the Bada Bing x Mulligans special edition sandwich features Mulligans’ Guinness-braised short rib, crispy spuds, greens, pickled cabbage and crispy onions. Oh. My. Word…
With punters’ favourite ‘Mullies’ pouring in more than 13,000 pints of the black stuff every single week, it won’t surprise you to learn that those lines have to be cleaned and maintained almost constantly.
It also goes without saying that wasting even a single drop of that liquid gold is a tragedy, so they had the ingenious of using that surplus stout to create a limited supply of slow-roasted, Guinness-flavoured beef fit to grace any authentic Irish stew.
Slap that meat between bread, and what do you get? Perhaps one of the greatest culinary creations we Manchester foodies have ever seen.
Speaking on the collab, Pádraig said: “At Mulligans, we take pride in every pint of Guinness we pour, so when the chance came up to team up with Bada Bing and create something special for Mancs to enjoy beyond the pub, it just made sense. Quality recognises quality.”
“We’ve always admired Mulligans for how they do things – with no shortcuts”, says Sam Gormally, co-founder of Bada Bing.”
He went on to add: “This collab celebrates everything we both love about Manchester hospitality – craft, quality and a bit of heart. It’s a proper Manc sandwich, made with a proper pint.”
In case it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, we cannot wait to try this thing, and since it’s only being served for a few days, we intend to eat as many as possible.
The ‘Split the B’ Mulligans x Bada Bing Guinness Sandwich will be available exclusively at Bada Bing, 125 Oldham St in the Northern Quarter from Thursday, 6 November – and once they’re gone, they’re GONE.
Daisy Jackson -
29th December 2021 
