Getting ready for a fresh start as we head into 2023?
With the big day having been and gone, and Christmas now on it’s way to becoming a distant memory, the last few days of the so-called ‘twixmas’ period often have us looking forward to what the new year will bring – but before we get to that, we first have to tackle the task of taking down and putting away all the festive decorations until next year.
Often one of the dullest times of the festive season, it signals that the magic of Christmas is over for another year, and it’s time to pack everything up and put our trees back into their boxes.
But for those of us that like to opt for a real Christmas tree, the end of the year always brings one question – now what do I do with it?
Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) has teamed up with local councils and charities across the region to provide Greater Manchester residents in all 10 boroughs with several different options for either recycling or donate their old Christmas trees.
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Here’s the different options.
Recycle it in your food and garden waste bin
You can recycle your Christmas tree by cutting it up and placing it in your food and garden waste bin, but you’ll need to make sure you take the following steps before doing so.
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Remove all decorations and fairy lights
Take off the base or wooden block if your tree has one
Make sure the trunk is not thicker than your wrist. Wood thicker than your wrist is too big and can’t be put in the garden and food bin. Large trunks and wooden bases can be taken to a recycling centre.
Recycle for Greater Manchester has teamed up with local councils and charities across the region / Credit: Flickr
Bring it to your local recycling centres
Wherever you live in Greater Manchester, you can take your real Christmas tree – and even your artificial tree that is beyond reuse – to your local recycling centre for free of charge, but it’s worth noting that if you’re planning on using a van, pick-up truck, or a twin-axle trailer to dispose of your tree, then you’ll probably need to apply for a permit.
You can find information about your nearest recycling centre here.
Donate it to charity
Did you know you can donate your Christmas trees to charity? For residents living in Manchester, Salford, Trafford, and Stockport, all you’ll need to do is register your tree with national charity JustHelping, along with a donation towards the collection, and you can help a local hospice in your area.
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So if you live in one of the below postcodes, then why not consider donating your Christmas tree for a good cause?
You can find more information and register your tree here.
Greater Manchester residents have several different options for either recycling or donating old Christmas trees this year / Credit: Sean Foster (via Unsplash)
Further options from your Council
Each Greater Manchester council also offers a couple of other options for Christmas tree disposal, including leaving it next to your green food and garden bin when you put your bin out for collection next month, taking it to Christmas tree drop off points open across the borough, arranging for council collections, or donating it St Ann’s Hospice.
Not all recycling options apply to every Council though, so it’s important to check.
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner
Emily Sergeant
More than 12 million Brits would argue that your Christmas dinner needs a side of Yorkshire puddings, a shocking survey has revealed.
The survey in question carried out by retailer Next – which polled a total of 2,000 Brits about their Christmas dining and tableware habits – has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track when it comes to, what we can all agree is, one of the biggest and heartiest meals of the year.
It turns out, Brits like a lot of unusual items on our Christmas dinner plate.
Some of the most obscure finds the survey is that two million people admitted to eating onion rings alongside their turkey and sprouts, and a further 5% (3.4 million) Brits like tucking into a bit of seafood on Christmas Day.
A surprising 4% (2.7 million) of people admitted that they like to add ketchup to their Christmas dinner plate – with mac and cheese, chips, and sweetcorn also making the top 10 list.
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner / Credit: Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
If all of that wasn’t mad enough as it is, one of the most shocking stats from the survey is probably the fact that a whopping 1.4 million respondents even said that they wouldn’t consider it a Christmas dinner without the addition of baked beans.
But when it comes to Christmas dinner, there’s probably one debate that’s bigger than them all, and is still yet to be decided – do Yorkshire puddings belong on your Christmas dinner plate or not?
Well, 12.7 million Brits believe that they do, and we reckon a good chunk of that number is us northerners.
The UK’s top 10 non-traditional Christmas food items
Yorkshire Puddings (19% – 12.7 million)
Bread sauce (5% – 3.4 million)
Seafood (5% – 3.4 million)
Ketchup (4% – 2.7 million)
Mac and cheese (3% – 2 million)
Onion rings (3% – 2 million)
Chips (2% – 1.2 million)
Bread (2% – 1.2 million)
Sweetcorn (2% – 1.2 million)
Beans (2% – 1.2 million)
A new survey has revealed has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track for Christmas dinner / Credit: Lisa Baker (via Unsplash)
While previous research has shown that the most common items on a British Christmas dinner are roast potatoes and gravy, these latest stats reveal there are some people out there who just like to do things a little differently.
But no matter how you like to eat it, a delicious Christmas dinner is always going to be something to celebrate, right?
An old clip of Tyson Fury talking about Oleksandr Usyk has come back to haunt him – twice
Danny Jones
This weekend saw Oleksandr Usyk emerge victorious over Tyson Fury for a second time in less than a year as the Ukrainian won the highly-anticipated rematch on points, and now an old clip of the Manc fighter dismissing his opponent has resurfaced online. Again.
Oh, the irony…
After losing following a split decision for what was his first career defeat back in May, Fury lost following a unanimous decision this time around and while some have questioned the scorecards (as tends to happen with these things), there can be no question over Usyk’s dominance now.
However, rewind to a few years ago before the 37-year-old had even won his first fight against Anthony Joshua and Fury’s naive not to mention controversial comments regarding the possibility of ‘giving’ him a fight look pretty silly now:
Tyson Fury a few years ago refusing to fight Usyk
“I want the big fights and that ain’t one of them. He’s a foreigner in a westernised world. The heavyweight champion should be from Britain or America and nowhere else.”
As you can see in the interview from 2020, the now 36-year-old Wythenshawe-born boxer was pretty dismissive about the prospect of fighting Usyk, who ultimately went on to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 following the first win over Fury.
Despite already having an Olympic gold, multiple cruiserweight titles and an undefeated record to his name, Usyk had only fought and won two heavyweight bouts at this point, which is perhaps why ‘The Gypsy King’ felt comfortable downplaying his potential back then.
However, although Usyk had a comfortable division debut against Chazz Witherspoon in 2019, he also went on to best Fury’s familiar foe Derek Chisora – a man he’s beaten on three different times but maintains he admires both in terms of personality and ability – so there were signs of what was to come.
Moreover, not only was Tyson clearly foolish enough to underestimate him back then but the divisive and inflammatory nature of his remarks in this clip has been labelled ‘offensive’ and ‘xenophobic’ by many online, both at the time and after reappearing on social media once again.
Regardless, it seems that Usyk was just as unphased by his posturing then as he is now, coming out in the post-fight press conference to shrug off his trash-talking to reiterate his “respect” for someone who ultimately believes is “a good man”.
Nevertheless, Fury has now lost two him twice and still maintains he didn’t get the right decision on both occasions, dubbing this latest defeat “an early Christmas gift” for his opponent.
In the previous clash, the Greater Manchester athlete even claimed that fans and judges unfairly favoured him because of the war in Ukraine – a response which also received plenty of backlash.
You can hear how he believes he was ‘robbed’ along with his full reaction following the fight down below:
Emily Sergeant -
30th December 2022 
