Recycling collections in Birmingham was suspended in February 2025 – around 16 months ago
11:31, 02 Jun 2026Updated 12:01, 02 Jun 2026
Bins filled with rubbish in Selly Oak, Birmingham in September 2025(Image: Alexander Brock)
Plans to restart recycling collections in Birmingham are ‘on pause’ amid uncertainty over the future political leadership of the city council.
The city’s recycling collections were suspended in February last year – around 16 months ago – due to the impact of the ongoing bins strike.
They were planned to be brought back as part of a project to transform the waste service, which was set to be rolled out from this month onwards after initially being delayed last year due to the strike.
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However, Birmingham City Council currently remains without political leadership after the May local elections saw the splintering of Brum’s politics and the rejection of the two-party system.
The mishmash of various groups and personalities now sitting in the council chamber means no party has the numbers to take control of the local authority themselves.
This is why talks are under way to try and form a coalition in a bid to set up a stable administration that can run the city council in the coming years.
This means the planned changes to the waste service – including the return of recycling collections – have been put on hold until the position of the new political leadership is made clear.
“The planned changes to the waste collection service (fortnightly household waste collection, a second recycling bin and the full food waste rollout) will not progress whilst we await the new political administration of the council,” a council spokesperson said this week.
A general view of Birmingham City Council House in Victoria Square(Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
“As the changes were due to start on a phased basis in June, some residents will already have received information about changes to the service, including changes to collection dates.
“We are sorry for any confusion this causes, we are keeping the existing service and will provide a further update once we have a position from the new administration.
“Those residents currently part of the new food waste pilot will continue to receive that service.”
The council confirmed today that these major plans being halted include the return of recycling collections.
A meeting has reportedly been scheduled for Friday to decide the next leader and administration of the council.
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All parties in the build-up to last month’s local elections described resolving the bins strike dispute and improving the waste service as an urgent priority.
When it comes to plans to introduce fortnightly collections of household rubbish, the Birmingham Liberal Democrats said before the elections that they would “maintain weekly collections until services have shown themselves to be completely reliable for a significant level of time”.
Asked whether the Green Party would continue with plans to introduce fortnightly collections, Coun Julien Pritchard said before May 7: “No party is going to have an overall majority, we’re going to have to see what all the parties around the table are saying.
“For me, the most important thing is to get the waste service to be reliable.”
Coun Robert Alden, the leader of the Conservatives, also pledged prior to the elections that the Tories would keep weekly bin collections.
Birmingham Labour leader Nicky Brennan addresses the council chamber
Labour and Reform UK have ruled themselves out of being involved in a coalition to run the council.