GMCA tables plans for 105,000 sq ft Bolton recycling facility

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s waste resources division wants to relocate the city region’s materials recovery facility from Sharston to Over Hulton.

The nine-acre former in-vessel composting building off Salford Road in Over Hulton is to be converted and extended to provide a 105,000 sq ft MRF facility.

The 24/7 complex will process household waste and separate it out into categories to be reused for various purposes by industry.

Relocating from the existing site – off Longley Lane in Sharston – will allow GMCA to ramp up its MRF operations.

The Bolton facility could process 140,000 tonnes of waste a year. The Sharston facility, which opened in 2013 and is operated by SUEZ, processes between 90,000 and 100,000 tonnes of materials every year.

In addition, the new facility in Over Hulton would be capable of processing some items that the existing plant cannot, including pots, tubs, and Tetra Pak cartons, according to planning documents.

The development proposes the repurposing of the redundant IVC facility – which was used to treat biowaste until 2019 –and construction of an education centre and a two-storey wellbeing building.

WSP is advising the GMCA on the plans. GMCA was contacted for comment.

To learn more about the plans, search for reference number 21602/25 on Bolton Council’s planning portal.