New bins delivered in Birmingham as council presses ahead with refuse changes during strike
Food waste collections set to increase as city aims to boost recycling rates despite ongoing dispute with bin workers
New bins are being delivered to residents across Birmingham as the city council moves ahead with changes to its refuse collection service, despite a year-long strike by some bin workers.
Members of the union Unite the Union began continuous industrial action on March 11 last year in a dispute over pay and planned reforms to the service. The union claims the changes could see hundreds of workers lose thousands of pounds.
However, Birmingham City Council denies that claim and says the reforms are needed to improve waste collection and recycling across the city.
New food waste bins were delivered to some households this week, with collections of food waste and recycling set to increase in the coming months.
Councillor Majid Mahmood, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said the authority is focused on improving services for residents.
“Our recycling rates have been more or less at the bottom of the league and must be improved,” he said.
The council hopes to raise the city’s recycling rate to 65%, he added, while also urging striking workers to return to their jobs.
“We want the workforce to return to work. It is an incredibly difficult job, especially given the weather conditions we have,” Mahmood said.
The council says it is also stepping up action against fly-tipping, which has been a major issue in parts of the city since the strike began. Between October 2024 and October 2025, the authority issued 2,020 fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping and commercial waste offences.
Officials say there has been a sustained increase in enforcement activity over the past 18 months, including more fines, vehicle seizures linked to illegal dumping, and a rise in prosecutions for waste-related crimes.
Mahmood said the council has made several offers to Unite in an attempt to resolve the dispute, but insisted reforms to the service will continue regardless of the industrial action.
“My message to those still taking industrial action is simple: come back to work as I want you to be part of this new and improved service,” he said.
“Our door remains open.”
Despite the ongoing strike, the council says waste collections are still taking place weekly, with an average of around 1,370 tonnes of rubbish collected from kerbsides each day across Birmingham.