Birmingham residents have faced months of disrupted bin and recycling collections following a long-running strike by Unite members in the city's waste service. The dispute began after Birmingham City Council sought to restructure waste collection roles, a move the union said would cut pay by up to £8,000 for around 170 workers.
Kerbside recycling collections were suspended after the strike turned all-out in March 2025. At that point, 17,000 tonnes of rubbish went uncollected and the council declared a Major Incident over public health concerns. General waste collections have since largely resumed, but recycling collections remain severely affected.
Acas-mediated talks broke down in July. Unite members have since voted to extend their strike mandate through to March 2026, making further disruption into the new year likely.
According to the source, the ongoing industrial action has cost Birmingham taxpayers at least £14 million, an average of more than £50,000 a day, largely due to agency worker costs and legal fees.
Source: Yahoo