The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) is a waste disposal authority

Waste disposal authority

Waste disposal authorities were established in the UK following the Environmental Protection Act 1990. WDAs are in charge of the use of funds from Council Tax to facilitate the disposal of municipal waste. WDAs must manage waste which is collected by local councils. In the case of unitary...

 created under the Local Government Act 1985

Local Government Act 1985

The Local Government Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the county councils of the metropolitan counties that had been set up in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, along with the Greater London Council that had been established in 1965.The...

 to carry out the waste

Waste

Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...

 management functions and duties of the Greater Manchester County Council

Greater Manchester County Council

The Greater Manchester County Council — also known as the Greater Manchester Council — was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986...

 after its abolition in 1986.

Greater Manchester Waste Limited (GMW), a company owned and controlled by the GMWDA, handles the waste of a population of over 2,000,000. The metropolian boroughs of the authority are Bolton

Metropolitan Borough of Bolton

The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bolton, but covers a far larger area which includes Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley and Westhoughton, and a suburban and rural element from the West Pennine...

, Bury

Metropolitan Borough of Bury

The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough is composed of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...

, City of Manchester, Oldham

Metropolitan Borough of Oldham

The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...

, Rochdale

Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale

The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...

, City of Salford

City of Salford

The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...

, Stockport

Metropolitan Borough of Stockport

The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...

, Tameside

Tameside

The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...

 and Trafford

Trafford

The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...

. The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan

The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...

 however is only on the authority for administration purposes.

Greater Manchester Waste PFI contract

The GMWDA is presently in the process of arranging a long term contract for the treatment of Greater Manchester's waste. Currently a consortium between Viridor

Viridor

Viridor is a waste management company in the United Kingdom, owned by Pennon Group, a FTSE 250 based plc focused on the water and waste management industries.Viridor was formed in 1993, by purchasing companies in the landfill market...

 and Laing has been named as preferred bidders for the project. The contract will include the utilisation of 3 mechanical biological treatment

Mechanical biological treatment

A mechanical biological treatment system is a type of waste processing facility that combines a sorting facility with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion...

 plants based on the Clarke Energy - Haase MBT^+WAD process and 2 on the Enpure technology are planned, along with composting facilities and materials recovery facilies

Materials recovery facility

A materials recovery facility or materials reclamation facility or materials recycling facility is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers...

.