Manchester butchers waste collection covers some of the most varied meat trade in the North West. Halal butchers on Wilmslow Road and Stockport Road, independent family butchers in Chorlton and Didsbury, market traders in the city centre and cutting rooms on industrial estates all produce bones, fat and trim that are legally classed as animal by-products. Martlands is a family-run, DEFRA approved collector based in Burscough, Lancashire, licensed for Category 1, 2 and 3 material, and butchers’ waste is a core part of our fallen stock and ABP collection work.
This page explains how the rules apply to Manchester butchers, the separation and storage that keeps you compliant, and how to arrange a collection that suits a busy shop.
Manchester butchers waste collection rules for shops and cutting rooms
Every butcher, whatever the size, has the same basic duty. Animal by-products must be kept separate from general waste, stored correctly, collected by a licensed carrier and accompanied by the right paperwork. Our butchers waste collection service provides leak-proof containers and issues a Commercial Document and Waste Transfer Note with every collection. The government also publishes detailed guidance on animal by-product categories and disposal.
Bones, fat and trim are Category 3
Most of what comes off a butcher’s block is Category 3 animal by-product. That includes bones, fat, trim, offcuts, out-of-date meat and returns, all from animals that were passed fit for human consumption at slaughter. It cannot go in a general waste bin, it cannot go to a domestic or council waste service, and it must never be fed to animals.
Our Category 3 ABP collection covers this material. The key to keeping it Category 3 is keeping it clean of anything higher risk, and that is where specified risk material comes in.
Specified risk material and Category 1
Specified risk material (SRM) is Category 1. For most Manchester butchers the relevant example is the vertebral column from cattle over 30 months, which can only be removed in premises authorised to do so. Some butchers handling whole or part sheep and goat carcases may also deal with material from older animals that counts as SRM, such as heads, so it is worth checking with your supplier and your local environmental health team what you are receiving.
Any SRM must go in its own clearly marked container and be collected under our Category 1 ABP collection. If SRM ends up in the bone bin, the whole bin must be treated as Category 1. That is a compliance problem and an avoidable one.
Halal butchers in Rusholme, Longsight and Cheetham Hill
Manchester has one of the largest concentrations of halal butchers in the country, particularly along the Curry Mile in Rusholme, Stockport Road through Longsight and Levenshulme, and Cheetham Hill Road. These shops often work with whole lamb and goat carcases and high volumes of poultry, with very busy trading around Eid and Ramadan.
That pattern means larger and more frequent loads at certain times of year, more bone and fat from carcase breaking, and a greater chance of older sheep or goat material that needs careful handling. We cover the practical side in our guide to halal butchers waste collection. The single most useful step is telling us before a festival week so collection frequency can be increased.
Independents, market traders and restaurant butchery
Independent butchers in Chorlton, Didsbury, Withington and the south of the city usually produce smaller, steady volumes, often with very limited back-of-shop space. Market traders in the Arndale market and other city centre food halls have even less room and may share storage with neighbouring stalls. Restaurants that do their own butchery, breaking down whole carcases or primals in-house, produce bone and fat on the same basis as a shop.
For all of these, a compact, lidded, leak-proof container that fits in the chiller or a cool storage area is usually the answer. A shared container can work for traders in the same building, provided each business keeps its own collection records.
Chilled storage and environmental health
Butchers’ waste starts to smell and attract pests quickly, especially in summer. It should be kept in closed, leak-proof containers, ideally chilled, away from saleable meat and food preparation areas, and collected often enough that it does not build up. Containers should be cleaned regularly and kept in good repair.
Manchester City Council’s environmental health officers will look at how ABP is stored and collected during food hygiene inspections. They will expect separate, labelled containers, a licensed collector, and Commercial Documents you can produce on request. Our guide to storing animal by-products covers the detail.
Paperwork that stands up to inspection
The Commercial Document is the record that proves your ABP left the premises legally. It shows the category, a description of the material, the quantity, where it came from and where it went. Keep every copy together, in date order, where you or a member of staff can find it quickly when an inspector asks, and keep them for at least two years.
Common problems are easy to avoid. Documents that describe SRM as bones, gaps in the record during holiday periods, or waste handed to an unlicensed man with a van all leave a shop exposed. Check that the carrier’s licence numbers appear on what you are given, and that the category on the document matches the container it came from.
Manchester butchers waste collection frequency and coverage
The right collection frequency depends on volume, storage and the time of year. A small independent with a chiller might need a weekly collection, while a busy halal butcher or cutting plant may need more often, especially at festival times. We agree that with you rather than imposing a schedule that does not fit your trade.
Our coverage extends across the city and beyond through our Greater Manchester butchers waste collection service. Meat processors and cutting rooms on industrial estates that also produce other animal by-products can be covered by our Greater Manchester ABP collection service, keeping all categories separate and properly documented.
Martlands collects under Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Animal By-Products Licence APB/CCN21/373/8002. For Manchester butchers waste collection, call us on 01704 776977 or contact us to tell us about your shop.
