About My Region

Geography

The Northwest region is one of the UK’s largest, ranging from urban Manchester and Merseyside to rural Cumbria and Cheshire.

The region is comprised of the Counties of:

• Cumbria
• Lancashire, and
• Cheshire;

the Metropolitan Counties of:

• Greater Manchester, and
• Merseyside;

and the Unitary Aurthorities of:

• Blackpool,
• Blackburn with Darwen,
• Halton, and
• Warrington.

Regional Development Agency

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) promotes economic development and regeneration in the region.

Transformational Action 23 in the Northwest Regional Economic Strategy (2006 – 2009) specifically mentions the reuse and recycling of materials to improve business resource efficiency and waste minimisation.

As economic growth occurs in the region, actions on waste minimisation, treatment and recycling technologies are required to mitigate this.

Examples include:

• encouraging business to recognise the value of sustainable technologies,
• to minimise waste and
• recycle more.

The region is also committed to reducing CO2 emissions through measures such as using sustainable materials in building projects.

Key sectors

Specific sectoral strengths within the region include:

• aerospace,
• chemicals,
• textiles,
• pharmaceuticals,
• nuclear reprocessing, and
• environmental technologies;

and in the context of potential waste market development:

• food & drink,
• paper/pulp, and
• rubber/plastics.