Key Takeaways:
- Birmingham’s new bin service will launch in June, a year later than planned, after massive strike disruption
- The service will include alternating fortnightly black bin and recycling collections, and a new weekly food waste collection
- The city council has been ranked among the worst in the country for bin complaints, with a recycling rate of just 23%
- The new service will include high-tech trucks, in-cab technology, and 360-degree cameras to improve safety and efficiency
- Households will have a total of three wheelie bins, plus a new food waste collection box, and will receive live operational data feeds to support services
Introduction to the New Bin Service
The city of Birmingham is set to launch a new bin service in June, a year later than planned, after a year of disruption caused by a massive strike. The new service is part of a multi-million pound transformation of bin services and recycling in the city, aimed at ending poor performance and recycling failures. The city council has been ranked among the worst in the country for bin complaints, with a recycling rate of just 23%, and over 121,000 bin collections were missed last year. The new service will include alternating fortnightly black bin and recycling collections, and a new weekly food waste collection, which is expected to improve the city’s recycling rate and reduce the number of missed bin collections.
The Need for Transformation
The city’s bin service was in dire need of a shake-up, with "longstanding issues and challenges" before the disruption caused by the bins strike. The council has admitted that the service was operating with aged vehicles, inadequate technology, and generated a high volume of complaints from customers. The city council provides essential waste collection services to a population of over 1.14 million residents and serves approximately 470,000 residential properties across the city. The council has drawn up transformation plans that were due to come into force in April this year, but the project had to be abandoned when workers went on strike at the start of this year.
New Services and Technology
Under the transformed service, bin crews will wear smart new uniforms and operate high-tech new trucks kitted out with in-cab technology and 360-degree cameras to improve safety and manage the service "from afar". There will also be live operational data feeds that support services and ensure greater efficiency. New boxes, currently stockpiled in storage, will be delivered to homes ready for a new food waste collection service to start. A pilot scheme will run at 10,000 addresses from March, ready for a full rollout in June. Households will have a total of three wheelie bins – one for landfill waste, one for plastics, cans, and glass, and one for paper and cardboard – along with the new food waste collection box.
Implementation and Rollout
The initial phase of the transformed service will see 70% of homes switch to the new regime. High rise blocks and flats above shops and other hard-to-reach properties will be rolled out in a second phase. The council has developed an extensive communication plan to help residents adjust to the new way of doing things. Refuse workers will also have new uniforms and personal protective equipment to reflect the professional culture and image the city is now trying to create, and to improve safety. The council has been running contingency plans since the all-out strike started in March, with weekly collections where possible except during periods of extreme disruption.
Impact on Residents
The new service will bring significant changes to the way residents dispose of their waste. A new weekly food waste collection, collected in an external 23-litre food waste caddie and an internal 7-litre caddy for the home, will be delivered to every home. A fortnightly collection will take place of dry recycling, collected in a 240-litre blue-lidded wheeled bin (for plastics, cans, and glass) and a new 180-litre green-lidded wheeled bin (for paper and cardboard). A fortnightly collection of non-recyclable residual waste, collected in a 180-litre grey wheeled bin, will take place on alternate weeks. Officers are currently developing a new waste receptacle (container) policy to ensure that households with larger families are provided with suitably sized containers.
Conclusion and Next Steps
The transformation of waste services is a cornerstone of Birmingham’s improvement and recovery. Successful implementation and sustained performance will be vital to rebuilding resident trust and confidence. The council is pressing on with the plans despite the disruption caused by the bin strike, and negotiations have ended with every affected bin worker either taking voluntary redundancy, accepting alternative roles, or undergoing compulsory redundancy. The council is urging Unite to bring the strike to an end, and is considering bringing in a new sub-workforce to run the food waste collection service if the strike is not resolved by next year. With the new service set to launch in June, residents can expect significant improvements to the way their waste is collected and recycled.