Materials Recovery Facilities

Find out more about the two facilities which sort Merseyside & Halton’s recycling

The Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs), handle the kerbside collections of Wirral, Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton and Halton.

Co-mingled materials are recovered and separated to be sent on to recycling plants for reprocessing. 

 

Merseyside & Halton's MRFs have the capacity to process over 200,000 tonnes per year, producing seven secondary raw material grades and diverting in excess of 63,000 tonnes away from disposal

 

A complex system of conveyors transports the recyclable material through the process. Technology used through the recovery processes features mechanical, optical and manual. These sorting techniques range from basic size separation methods to complex computer controlled equipment used to identify and remove non target materials within the material streams.

 

Through the combination of these technologies we are able to achieve the high levels of separation of the different materials and convert what would otherwise be waste into secondary raw materials.

After the sorting of the materials there is a bulking and storage function whereby balers are used to compress some of the recyclables into dense bales for transport to the materials reprocessors and other materials are bulked for transport.

Gillmoss and Bidston MRF Input Materials Accepted

Plastic Bottles

Steel Cans

Cardboard

Glass Bottles & Jars

Aluminium Cans

Paper

Bidston MRF

  • Materials accepted from Wirral households
  • Operational since 2006
  • Capacity to sort up to 80,000 tonnes of dry recyclables materials a year 
  • Process rate of up to 13.5 tonnes of material per hour
  • Based on a multi-use site featuring; Household Waste Recycling Centre, Waste Transfer Station, Trade Waste Recycling and Head Office
     

Gillmoss MRF

  • Materials accepted from Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton households
  • Operational since 2011
  • Capacity to sort up to 150,000 tonnes of dry recyclables materials a year 
  • Process rate of up to 35 tonnes of material per hour
  • Features a purpose built visitor viewing platform
  • The building features rainwater harvesting and a greywater recycling system.
Visit the website for Merseyside and Halton residents to find out what should and shouldn't be recycled...
A unique visitor experience offering free sessions for education, community and uniformed groups.