Labour’s Bin Cuts Are Still Coming – Just Delayed
Weekly bin collections are set to be scrapped. Don’t let the delay fool you.
Birmingham Labour have confirmed their plan to scrap weekly bin collections and move the city to a fortnightly system—starting in the north of the city and expanding across Birmingham over 6 to 9 months.
They’re calling it “alternate weekly collections” to avoid using the word fortnightly, but let’s be clear: your household waste bin will only be emptied once every two weeks.
While this rollout was due to begin in April, it has now been delayed due to ongoing bin strikes. But the plan has not been cancelled—only postponed.
If implemented, Labour’s new bin regime will mean:
- Fortnightly collections for residual waste, increasing the risk of overflowing bins and missed pickups
- The removal of paper pods, replaced with another recycling bin
- The introduction of food waste bins, but with only one roll of free liners—after that, residents must buy their own
At the same time, Labour have scrapped free pest control, meaning families dealing with rat infestations due to missed collections will have to pay out of pocket to get rid of them.
Labour say it’s about improving recycling. But if that were true, they wouldn’t be slashing street cleaning budgets or leaving residents to cover the cost of the problems their policies create.
Results of our survey
We surveyed Birmingham's residents and found that:
- 98% of respondents put their bins out every week
- 90% of respondents fill their bins every week
- 92% of respondents said fortnightly black bin collections would not be sufficient for their household
Birmingham’s streets are already struggling. Moving to fortnightly bins will make things worse. Sign our petition below to call on the Council to finally scrap the move to fortnightly bins.
