{"id":666575,"date":"2026-01-01T09:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666575\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T09:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:50:19","slug":"birmingham-2026-bin-shake-up-explained-collection-changes-timeline-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666575\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham 2026 bin shake-up explained – collection changes, timeline and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birmingham residents will see collections of household rubbish become fortnightly in 2026<\/p>\n

Alexander Brock<\/strong> Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

08:00, 01 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

\"UncollectedUncollected bins on Yardley Wood Road, Birmingham earlier this year(Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

Thousands of Birmingham residents are set to see major changes soon as the city council prepares to embark on its \u2018biggest bin shake-up in 25 years\u2019.<\/p>\n

The Labour<\/a>-run council<\/a>, which has recently faced financial turmoil, says it is transforming its waste service to improve reliability, hit recycling targets and make necessary savings.<\/p>\n

The changes, which will see collections of household rubbish move from weekly to fortnightly, were initially meant to be rolled out in spring 2024.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Birmingham landmark tower sale approved as councillor says \u2018do we have to?\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Weekly food waste collections and a second recycling bin, specifically for recycling paper and cardboard, were also set to be introduced in phases across Birmingham<\/a> from April onwards.<\/p>\n

But with the ongoing bins strike causing disruption to collections, the decision was taken to delay the waste transformation.<\/p>\n

The council has now said the changes will start rolling out in June 2026 \u201cregardless of the strike situation\u201d.<\/p>\n

What are the changes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The waste transformation means collections of household rubbish will become fortnightly \u2013 a planned change which has attracted criticism from opposition councillors.<\/p>\n

There will also be a fortnightly collection of recycling, with a second bin being introduced specifically for recycling paper and cardboard.<\/p>\n

Birmingham residents will see a new weekly food waste collection introduced too, which will include two caddies \u2013 one external and one for the home.<\/p>\n

\"OverflowingOverflowing bin on Pershore Road, Birmingham back in September(Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

The council has also said there will be \u201cextensive communication and engagement\u201d with residents and a trial scheme for the food waste collections from March next year.<\/p>\n

On the move to a fortnightly collection of household rubbish, cabinet member for environment<\/a> Coun Majid Mahmood said previously: \u201cI know some residents are concerned.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this will not be introduced until we have the food waste collections, meaning people will have less general waste.\u201d<\/p>\n

When will they happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The city council has said the rollout will be on a phased basis, with around 20,000 residents transferred to the new service in fortnightly blocks.<\/p>\n

The introduction of the changes will be based on a depot-by-depot deployment, with a report saying Perry Barr<\/a> will be first followed by Lifford in south Birmingham and then Atlas in Tyseley.<\/p>\n

According to the report, the overall timeline for implementing all the new waste services will take around 12 months starting from June 2026.<\/p>\n

It says there will be a three-month initial implementation phase followed by a nine-month roll-out and \u201creintegration of services\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first three months will focus on workforce mobilisation alongside comprehensive resident communications and engagement,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham Labour councillor slams government over ‘disaster about to happen’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The plans mean some Birmingham residents, such as those living in flats above shops, may not actually see the changes introduced in their area until 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitial roll out is to kerbside properties only, with multiple occupancy and flats above shops to follow,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe additional 130,000 multiple occupancy properties and flats above shops will be on a subsequent timeline, likely to extend to quarter 4 in 2026\/27.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be comprehensive communications and engagement with residents to ensure households know what is happening on their street and when,\u201d the council added.<\/p>\n

Will recycling collections resume?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The council has said its waste transformation programme will include the reintroduction of recycling collections, which have been suspended since February 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the frustration of residents,\u201d Coun Mahmood said recently. \u201cI would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically we\u2019ve suffered from high missed collections in the city and low recycling rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole purpose of this transformation is to change that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to exceed the 65 per cent target that\u2019s been set by the government for recycling for 2035,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

What if the bins strike is still happening?<\/strong>\"MajidMajid Mahmood, Birmingham’s cabinet member for environment(Image: Birmingham City Council)<\/p>\n

The council has said it expects the rollout to begin in June 2026 regardless of whether the bins strike is still happening at that point or not.<\/p>\n

Coun Mahmood said changes had been introduced in recent months to support the transformation, including over 1,100 new routes, a new council-owned fleet and training for staff and managers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have already made some changes, with our new council-owned fleet fully operational,\u201d he said. \u201c[This means] there is less reliance on hired vehicles, improved reliability and better consistency in collections.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur crews have the tools they need to deliver a more reliable, efficient service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re ready to go on this now,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019ve done all the background, done all the mobilisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve very confident that we\u2019ll get the rollout in June.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bins strike dispute between the council and Unite the union was initially sparked by the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role.<\/p>\n

Striking workers have raised concerns about pay while the Labour-run council\u2019s leadership has repeatedly insisted that a \u201cfair and reasonable\u201d offer had been made.<\/p>\n

How much has bins strike disruption cost the council?<\/strong>\"BirminghamBirmingham bins strike protesters disrupt a full council meeting on November 4(Image: Alexander Brock)<\/p>\n

The direct costs and loss of income from garden waste is estimated to have cost the council at least \u00a314 million.<\/p>\n

But a report recently said the industrial action will also have an impact on the council\u2019s ability to make savings by transforming the waste service.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be difficult at this stage to specify exactly what the cost of industrial action is,\u201d Coun Mahmood said recently. \u201cWe do have a budget meeting in February where the costs will be published.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a significant cost, we can\u2019t hide behind that fact. We want to bring [the industrial action] to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to equal pay, he added: \u201cWe do know the cost of any new claims of discrimination far exceeds the current costs of industrial action.\u201d<\/p>\n

What have opposition councillors said?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opposition councillors were sceptical about the changes being made against the backdrop of the bins strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents will rightly ask how on earth Labour can justify pushing ahead with a completely new waste system when they can\u2019t even get the current one working,\u201d Conservative<\/a> councillor Robert Alden said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council has been unable to collect recycling for a year and yet Labour would have you believe they can successfully introduce food waste recycling during a strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coun Alden, leader of the opposition, also urged the council during a recent meeting to \u201clook again\u201d at its plans to switch to fortnightly collections of household rubbish.<\/p>\n

Conservative councillor Ewan Mackey added that it \u201cseems like madness to introduce a new service\u201d amid the current disruption from the strike.<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham Conservative councillor Robert Alden(Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t long ago that we heard the agency workers themselves were going on strike,\u201d he said. \u201cReputational damage is bad enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Coun Rob Pocock, the Labour cabinet member overseeing transformation, told the meeting that the proposals were the \u201cbiggest transformation in our household waste collection service for at least 25 years\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c[They] will finally bring to an end this city\u2019s woefully underperforming recycling service,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Birmingham residents will see collections of household rubbish become fortnightly in 2026 Alexander Brock Local Democracy Reporter 08:00,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,7831,984,748,527,393,728,4884,528,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-666575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-bin-strike","10":"tag-birmingham-city-council","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-conservative-party","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-environment","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-labour-party","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115819225378562618","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}