What happens to your recycling and rubbish
Where your recycling goes
Your collected recycling is taken to UPM's Materials Recovery Facility at Shotton for sorting. It's easier to sort items that have been left loose.
How the UPM facility works
If you need a transcript of this video contact the waste and recycling service
How we compost your food and garden waste
Since January 2020 we have been taking your garden and food waste to a new composting plant in Leighton, near Crewe. The plant is operated by a contractor on behalf of Cheshire East Council.
Once the waste arrives at the site it is tipped off in a waste transfer hall and then loaded into special concrete tunnels for composting treatment. We monitor the temperatures to make sure that they are high enough to kill any pathogens that could otherwise spread or lead to diseases. The treated material is then placed in a maturation area for a few more weeks prior to being prepared for use in agriculture and horticulture.
Where your non-recyclable material goes
Energy from waste
The materials that cannot be recycled are processed at Energy from Waste facilities and used to create electricity which goes in to the National Grid.
Landfill site
We send less than 5% of our black bin waste to landfill, this goes to the Maw Green landfill site in Crewe. This waste mainly comes from the household waste recycling centres that are open every day of the week, including Sunday. We cannot process this material through our Environmental Hub in Middlewich because it is only open 6 days per week.
Closed landfill sites
When landfill sites become full they are closed and can be restored for use as public amenities with controlled access. They can be released for agricultural use, subject to close environmental control and monitoring for safety.
We have a responsibility for maintaining 6 closed sites:
- Brownlow Quarry (Congleton)
- Croxton Lane (Middlewich)
- Hassall Road (Alsager)
- Lowerhouse (Bollington)
- Newgate (Wilmslow)
- Pyms Lane (Crewe)
Hassall Road Alsager
This closed landfill site is a designated area supporting nature conservancy with controlled public access. Ecological and scientific studies take place here due to the recognised biological importance.
For further guidance on restoring landfill sites see: