Birmingham City Council agreed to pay up to ‘recognise the frustration’ caused and cover the cost of the skip
Birmingham City Council House(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Birmingham City Council has agreed to pay out to a ‘frustrated’ resident who hired a skip to deal with mounting rubbish outside her home.
The woman claimed the council had “repeatedly failed” to collect communal waste containers, which led to an accumulation of rubbish near her block of flats.
She then felt compelled to hire a skip “at her own expense” to dispose of the waste, according to a watchdog which investigates council complaints.
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The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said in a report that the council had caused “difficulties and financial expense” for the woman, who was referred to as Mrs X.
It went on to say that the Labour-run council had agreed to pay the resident “£300 to recognise the frustration” and “£168 for the cost of the skip”.
In particular, the ombudsman found that the council had “repeatedly failed” to collect Mrs X and her neighbours’ waste since January 2024 – a year before the current bins strike started.
“The problem of missed collections significantly predates any industrial action,” it said.
In particular, Mr and Mrs X reported a number of missed collections last summer, as well as four in September and a further four in October.
A file photo of bin lorries in Birmingham in 2025(Image: Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
Mrs X also made a formal complaint in October and said the bins were overflowing and the waste chutes blocked, which she considered a health and a fire risk.
A skip was hired in an attempt to clear some of the waste, with Mr X claiming the situation was causing them a “high level of stress and anxiety”.
“The council’s response to the complaint apologised for the poor level of service,” the ombudsman said. “It said the manager was aware of the issues and had given crews additional reminders to ensure collections were made as scheduled.
“The council anticipated this would improve the service going forward.”
But the issues reportedly continued towards the end of last year, prompting the council to explain that it had become more difficult to access the bins since the introduction of later start times for the collection crews.
The ombudsman said in its report that the collection times for Mrs X’s block of flats had moved from around 6am to 8am.
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“The council says it is unable to comment on what caused the missed collections as the driver and crew are involved in the industrial action,” it continued. “However, it again suggests the later start times introduced in 2024 are a potential cause of missed collections.”
It also said that the council’s records show a manager spoke with the collection crew in October 2024, who reportedly suggested the later start times made it more difficult to collect the waste due to traffic on the road.
“[The council] is not currently monitoring reports of missed collections due to the industrial action but will recommence when the industrial action ends,” the watchdog added.
The report stated a number of the missed collections were eventually ‘closed’ – which means the council had completed them at a later point.
The eight missed collections reported across September and October 2024 were closed on November 11 for example, the ombudsman said.
‘Frustration and disappointment’
The ombudsman ultimately concluded that the failings in service amount to fault.
“I must now consider whether this has caused Mrs X an injustice,” it said.
“As the missed collections affected the whole block of flats, Mrs X has not only had to manage her own uncollected waste but she has also had to endure large amounts of uncollected waste and the associated health and safety concerns.
“The level of consecutive missed collections led Mrs X to incur the cost of hiring a skip.”
The watchdog continued that the resident had experienced “frustration and disappointment” both with the missed collections and the council’s failure to resolve the problem.
Majid Mahmood, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for environment(Image: Alexander Brock)
It was decided that the council should apologise, reimburse the cost of the skip and make a “symbolic payment” to recognise the injustice.
Asked about the ombudsman’s decision, cabinet member for environment Councillor Majid Mahmood said: “We apologise to Mrs X for any distress caused.
“We have agreed to pay appropriate compensation along with other actions set out by the ombudsman.”
Previously addressing missed bin collections during a meeting earlier this year, Coun Mahmood said: “We don’t want to see a single complaint coming through to customer services because of non-collection.
“No resident should have to go and pay for their own skip. It’s a service that we have to by law provide to residents.
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“If there’s specific issues, […] that’s something that we need to intervene with.”
He added in January that new technology would make a positive difference and the system was being reviewed around tower blocks and maisonettes.
Coun Mahmood has said in the past that changes to the city’s waste service would provide Brummies “with a better waste collection service that is in line with other councils”.
The council has said it will support the changes by investing in a new fleet of lorries and food waste collection vehicles while also replacing and upgrading its IT system.