Calls to halt fortnightly Birmingham bin collections as strike goes on

The strike action, involving more than 400 bin workers, has been happening on and off since January.

It has left rubbish piled high on streets across the city, with reports that rubbish has attracted rats and other pests.

In a letter addressed to Majid Mahmood, the council’s cabinet member for environment, Conservative councillors wrote that Brummies were already grappling with “significant disruption and uncertainty”.

“Adding a major overhaul to collection schedules will exacerbate an already untenable situation for households across the city,” the shadow cabinet members continued.

It added that fortnightly collections would be a “double whammy” amidst the burden of the strikes.

“We urge you to pause this plan until the industrial action is settled, the streets are cleaned and normal service resumes,” the letter added.

“We believe that summer of 2026 is the earliest possible practical timeframe to allow the council to properly plan for this.”