During Birmingham’s bin strike, “take it to the tip” was not an equally practical answer for every household. A resident’s real options depended on transport, storage space, the type of waste and whether they could afford to pay for an extra collection.

A dated outline

According to Birmingham City Council, Unite members began intermittent industrial action in January 2025 and all-out strike action on 11 March 2025. In its one-year statement of 11 March 2026, the council said its contingency plan aimed to give every household one general-waste collection a week, and that it had suspended recycling and garden-waste collections so general waste could be collected. It also said blockades at depots had at times stopped it following that plan. These are the council’s own account, not an independent review of every street.

The garden-waste service was suspended in March 2025 and the council said 2025 subscriptions would be refunded automatically. Its bulky-waste page says new requests are paused because of the strike action; that notice was still showing on 30 September 2026. On 27 April 2026 the trade publication Circular reported that the council and Unite had agreed a proposed deal for Unite members to vote on. This guide could not confirm from the council’s own pages whether the dispute had formally ended by 30 September 2026.

Council facilities as an alternative

Birmingham’s household recycling centres are run by Veolia. Veolia’s site says visits generally need a booked slot (one site currently lets cars arrive without booking) and visitors must show proof that they are Birmingham residents; vans need a separate van booking, and some sites restrict vans and trailers.

The council’s two mobile household waste centres visit different locations for a morning at a time. The council says they are free, need no booking and take general household waste and bulky items such as furniture, but not building materials, white goods, hazardous items or recycling. During the industrial action they have not accepted waste from vans. Their usefulness depended on a visit being scheduled near you.

Private collection was a separate household choice

GOV.UK lists a registered private waste collection business as a lawful option when the council will not collect. A resident could get a quote for bags or bulky items rather than waiting. The questions that mattered were whether the business was a registered carrier, when it could actually attend, the total price, and where the waste would go.

Neighbours sharing one collection could cut repeated journeys, but it could not guarantee a lower price. Households without money for extra collections depended on the public options and on their normal service returning.

Disposal access was not interchangeable

Veolia states that Birmingham’s recycling centres cannot accept business or trade waste, including from someone offering to clear rubbish from a house that is not their own. A paid collector therefore needed a commercial disposal route rather than free resident access.

What to check now

This history is not a current collection schedule. The council is running a waste pilot in North Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield, introducing weekly food waste collections from June 2026 with recycling and general waste collected on alternate weeks, and it writes to households before their service changes. Check your address on the council’s collection-day checker and read the current service notices before acting.

The bottom line

Birmingham residents’ options during the strike ranged from booked recycling-centre visits and mobile centres to paid private collection, but each depended on transport, booking, the type of waste and money. Check the council’s current pages for your address rather than relying on older advice.

Sources

This guide draws on the following sources, checked on 30 September 2026:

• Birmingham City Council, “Industrial action in the waste service: one year on from start of all-out strike (11 March 2026)”
• Birmingham City Council, “Mobile Household Waste Centres (page last updated 24 April 2026)”
• Birmingham City Council, “Bulky waste collection (service update)”
• Birmingham City Council, “Waste pilot (page last updated 16 September 2026)”
• Veolia Birmingham, “Household recycling centres”
• GOV.UK, “Dispose of household waste”
• Circular (CIWM), “Deal agreed to end Birmingham bin strikes (27 April 2026)”

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Compare Waste Removal is an independent guide. We may earn a fee from some links; this never affects what we write. This is general information, not legal advice.