Thousands of new bins for Birmingham but silence over strike

People in Birmingham might be forgiven for wondering what is going on with their bins - on the one hand, the long-running dispute is well into its 18th month, on the other, recycling collections are returning to parts of the city, and there are new bins to put waste into.

In June, the new council leadership, following the local elections, said the strike was their "number one priority" - since then, no major updates.

Negotiations will be continuing but neither the city council nor the union involved, Unite, want to comment on them.

Meanwhile, bins have been dropped off at thousands of homes for the trial in parts of north Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield.

Under the scheme, household waste collections are moving to fortnightly along with recycling collections coming back and, as in other parts of the country, new weekly food waste collections.

Most residents in the trial area will get three bins and two food waste caddies and the council said it would be writing to affected households while also providing information on their website.

The new system is due to be introduced across Birmingham before Christmas if the pilot is successful but some residents said the changes have brought confusion.

Tonia Dunn, from Boldmere, said she was still waiting for her food waste bins to arrive.

"The first collection of food waste is due to happen next Wednesday but we don't have the bins," she said.

"I'm feeling as though they're cutting it very fine to deliver us the bins and it could be that they come for the bins and they're empty or not here."

"It really confuses me."

While Sutton Coldfield resident Kim Quance said she was concerned about the practicalities of the new system, particularly for households with limited space.

"There are many terraced houses and smaller houses with parking for just one car. How are they to manage three large wheelie bins? And how are flats being managed?" she asked.

Quance also raised concerns about the small size of household waste bins compared with neighbouring areas, where fortnightly collections are already in place.

"Our household refuse bin is only 180 litres and my sister in Bromsgrove has a bin of 240 litres. I am waiting to see if our household bin will even take two weeks of rubbish," she said.

Despite residents' concerns, councillor Harris Khaliq, cabinet member for city services, said participation in the pilot was "strong" and adjustments were made following residents' feedback.

The strike is in its 18th month and has been all-out since March last year.

Before the election, Labour council leader John Cotton said a solution to the dispute was "in sight" while Unite said a potential deal was ready to be put to members.

But no agreement was reached before voters went to the polls in May, when Cotton lost his seat and control of the council.

Since the new council leadership took charge, there have been no significant updates on talks to end the strike.

BBC Birmingham political reporter Kathryn Stanczyszyn said: "The summer season can be known for going quiet in politics – but almost three months on from the local elections and leadership change, the situation surrounding the city's ongoing bin strike seems almost silent."

New council leader Roger Harmer previously said resolving the bin strike would be his top priority.

At the start of July, he underlined this: "We will find a deal. We will make a deal.There has to be a deal, and that is number one item on our agenda."

So why nothing substantial, given what was said by Cotton before the elections?

Stanczyszyn said the new administration would be working on a deal from scratch, ditching the proposal put forward by the previous leadership.

She said the discussions were likely to be complex: "Both sides are keeping their powder dry as they scope out what could be possible."

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