There’s a lot of admin involved in Christmas, especially when you want it to go off without a hitch, and sorting your bins out is one that often slips our mind, so that’s why we’ve put together a list of the full bin collection dates this holiday seasons across Greater Manchester this year.
Covering each of the region’s 10 boroughs, we’ve got the details on when your local council will come and collect your rubbish and in what order. There’s nothing more colourful and quintessentially British than homes dripping in fairy lights and decorations with the full bin rainbow lined up out front.
With that in mind, let’s not waste any more time — here’s the full list of Manchester bin collection dates for Christmas 2023:
Manchester (central)
Manchester City Council has confirmed that this year’s bin collection dates will be shuffled to a couple of days later than usual, so rather than rubbish being collected on Monday, 25 December (Christmas Day), the collections will instead be taking place on Wednesday, 27 December.
New Year’s week collection days will also move forward by one day, meaning bins that would have been collected on New Year’s Day will now be picked up 24 hours later on Tuesday, 2 January and so on until Saturday, 6 January.
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Bin collections will then return to the normal schedule from Monday, 8 January 2024. They have also given full details on where to dispose of real Christmas trees HERE.
Bury
Grey, green and blue bin collections will change to be a day later than usual, i.e. rather than being on Tuesday, 26 December, the bins will now collected on the Wednesday, according to the council.
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As for bins normally expected to be emptied on Wednesday, December 27; the same rule applies and they will now be picked up on Thursday — so on and so forth up until Saturday, 30 December.
Bolton
Next up is you Boltonians, the local authorities have made things nice and easy for you by putting together a full schedule of the usual and revised bin collection dates for you to follow.
Christmas trees can also be taken to the tip and put in the green waste or collected by the council themselves for just £10 — just call 01204 336 632 before Thursday, 11 January 11 to arrange a date. They are also reminding people not to dispose of batteries and instead recycle them at supermarkets.
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Oldham
Over in Oldham, it has been confirmed that there will be no bin collections on Boxing Day this year (Monday, 26 December) and if your refuse is usually due to be picked up on that day you will be given an earlier allocation.
Most bins will be emptied on Christmas Eve, (Saturday, 24 December) and the council are asking residents to put out their bin blue, brown or grey bins on the same day that are usually due for collection, with the green food and garden waste bins set to be emptied on Monday, 2 January.
Once again, if you’re unsure, you can always find the exact collection dates for your postcode HERE or call 0161 770 6644.
Rochdale
The next borough on the list is Rochdale and while there will obviously be no bin collections on Christmas Day and if you are scheduled to have any bins collected on Boxing Day, these will instead be collected on Saturday, 30 December.
Collection days will run as normal from Wednesday to Friday (27-29) and the schedule will return to normal from Tuesday, 2 January 2024.
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Salford
If you’re in Salford this festive period, the bin men won’t be coming on Tuesday, 26 December and the replacement will be on Saturday, 23 December instead.
You can double-check your bin collection day HERE and for any local businesses, you can find details of any and all collection changes on the council website.
Salford City Council are also apologising for any delays in collecting pink lidded bins and food caddies due to operational staff issues over the Christmas period but has assured that if you place it out again on your next scheduled collection day.
Stockport
There are no collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day in Stockport and there will also be no green bins collected until Saturday, December 30.
You can check your collection calendar for details of when your waste and recycling are scheduled to be collected over the festive period or check it online HERE.
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This year Stockport Council has also teamed up with St Anne’s Hospice Christmas for their tree collection service, you simply have to fill out a registration form. Handy and helpful.
Tameside
As for Tameside Metropolitan Borough, they made things nice and easy for you with a quick and accessible graphic too.
Our bin crews will be working over most of the Christmas and New Year period, but there will be some changes to some collections ♻️
Councillor Denise Ward said: “I would like to offer my own and the council’s thanks to all residents who make the effort to recycle. By doing so you’re helping the environment by keeping the amount of waste sent to landfill to a minimum.”
“Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank our bin crews who work so hard not only over Christmas, but throughout the year and in all weathers.”
Trafford
There are a few changes if you live over Trafford way as well, but they’ve kept things straightforward in terms of the scheduling.
Last but not least, bin collection in Wigan will be nudged one day later between Boxing Day and Saturday, December 30.
Green bin collections will also be suspended from Boxing Day until Friday, 5 January 2024 before resuming as normal on the week commencing Monday, January 8.
Recycling centres will also be closed on all the main days this holiday season but will be open from 9am to 5:45pm in between if you need to get rid of some stuff between Christmas and New Year’s.
Breakaway competition R360 issues statement after rubgy unions warn players of sanctions
Danny Jones
Prospective breakaway competition R360 have issued a response to the joint statement from multiple countries’ rugby unions, which has warned players of sanctions should they choose to join the new league.
While the vast majority seemingly remain opposed to the new concept, backing from certain key figures has resulted in the likes of the UK and Irish rugby unions, along with other key nations, sharing their unified stance against the potential rival.
Put in the simplest terms, the R360 model is rugby’s equivalent of what the proposed European ‘Super League’ was for football just a few years ago, with similar questions being raised around how it could jeopardise existing contests, player wellbeing and more.
Now, though, the new format – which has been largely backed and developed by former World Cup winner with England, Mike Tindall – delivered its own reply on Wednesday, 8 October.
Shared publicly to the press, the alternative tournament wrote: “It’s not always easy to embrace new opportunities, but as we’ve seen throughout history, it’s essential for any sport to grow. So many players love what R360 can do for them and the game, and we can’t wait to kick off next year.
“Player welfare is one of the key reasons for creating our global series, which will greatly reduce player load and capture the attention of a new generation of fans globally. We want to work collaboratively as part of the global rugby calendar.
“The series is designed with bespoke schedules for men’s and women’s teams and R360 will release all players for international matches, as written into their contracts. Our philosophy is clear – if players want to play for their country, they should have that opportunity. Why would the unions stand in their way?
“We look forward to submitting to the World Rugby Council for sanctioning next summer as planned.”
At present, R360 is due to hold its inagural season this time next year, with eight new male teams and four women’s sides expected to get underway from October 2026 onwards.
In addition to more lucrative contracts like those promised in the IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket, LIV Golf and the aforementioned albeit failed Super League, R360 is also set to offer a reduced playing schedule but one that would still tempt athletes away from their current teams to new franchises.
The national rugby unions of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Italy have released the following statement on the proposed R360 competition ⬇️#IrishRugby
Although they have assured player care is an utmost priority, their health and fitness is one of my concerns put forward by the total eight rubgy unions who have urged current pros to stay away from the breakaway competition.
In case you haven’t seen the statement release by England, Ireland and Scotland, as well as France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, it begins by “urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition.”
Assuring that they welcome “investment and innovation in rugby”, they feel this particular idea won’t improve the sport but could instead “fragment or weaken it.”
Having assessed the proposals supposed value/addition to the “rugby’s global ecosystem”, it seems the fear is that the outcome will be a “net negative to the game”, with little to no detail as to how it can run alongside existing fixtures, assure proper management of player welfare and more.
As for Wales, despite opting not to put their name to the open letter itself, they have stated publicly: “The Welsh Rugby Union supports this statement, and we’re considering changes we may need to make to qualification rules in Wales as part of ongoing analysis following our recent consultation process.”
The statement continues: “The R360 model, as outlined publicly, rather appears designed to generate profits and return them to a very small elite, potentially hollowing out the investment that national unions and existing leagues make in community rugby, player development, and participation pathways.”
It seems there is deep concern for how it could affect grassroots and the international rugby too, not just league and union, and have failed to full explain or help key organisations “better understand their business and operating model.”
Most notably, they sign off by adding: “Each of the national unions will therefore be advising men’s and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them ineligible for international selection.”
What do you make of the whole debate – do you like the current schedule/format as it is, or do you think there’s room for a new chapter in the rugby world?
Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.
In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer.
Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM
However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action onFriday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.
This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.
Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.
Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.
The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM
“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”
Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.
Danny Jones -
20th December 2023 
