Massive change to Birmingham’s rubbish collection as residents say ‘how will we notice?’

Residents have met a major change in Birmingham’s rubbish collections with indifference – as they say they all don’t turn up every week anyway. Birmingham City Council has confirmed it is moving to a twice-weekly collection after hinting at the plan for months – a major change for households in the city.

It’s the most radical change to the city’s waste collection for years, but the announcement was met with a muted response from some BirminghamLive readers. As we reported, in a move imposed on the city as part of £365m of budget cuts over the next two years, residual waste and recycling will be picked up on alternate weeks.

The plan will be gradually implemented in different areas of the city starting from April. However, seemingly desensitized BirminghamLive readers appeared to shrug after the news was announced last week.

READ MORE: Huge update to Birmingham’s rubbish collection announced in a sweeping update

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Taking to our Facebook page, Eric Bullock wrote: “Already used to (Birmingham Council) coming when they feel like it.” Louise Clayton echoed this, adding: “How are we going to notice any difference they’ve missed for a few weeks anyway?”

A worried Masood Yasin wrote: “The rats will have a field day no doubt!” Others, like Tone Richardson, asked, “Do you want to give us bigger bins?” A frustrated BCFC Reece Locking added: “It creates more turnovers. The streets are already a mess.”

Commissioners overseeing the council under government orders said the change was “necessary, urgent and vital” as part of the council’s overall transformation. They say it will “significantly increase service reliability, recycling rates and resident satisfaction with this important universal service”.

However, residents remain concerned about the level of fly tipping, which continues to plague some communities. Just last week I visited Selly Oak, where residents are fed up with the piles of rubbish left by students at the end of the academic year.

Our reporter heard from residents about a “three-way hostile environment” between landlords, students and workers, which can lead to piles of trash left at the start of summer. Some expressed that Birmingham could do with fortnightly collections, such as Mick Graham who said: “Fortnightly works. Our nut-job board reviews collections every 3 weeks!”

Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “By making these improvements, the people of Birmingham will benefit from a better waste collection service which is in line with other councils.”

The council’s new waste collection plan will be phased in, read everything we know here.