Bins collections in Birmingham were being missed before refuse workers went on strike new figures show

But new figures have revealed that the Labour-run city council were struggling to meet fly-tipping and bin collection targets even before the bins strike started earlier this year in January.

A council performance report, covering the third quarter of 2024-25, said the number of ‘reported missed bin collections per 100,000 collections scheduled’ had missed the quarterly target of 90.

Instead, it was 356 – this is a 31 per cent increase compared to the second quarter of the year and “significantly higher” than the previous year’s average of 166.

The report also showed that the percentage of fly-tipping incidents cleared within seven calendar days was 74 per cent.

This was an improvement compared to the previous quarter but still below the quarterly target of 95 per cent.

A report on the second quarter of the year previously revealed that the number of fly tips reported in Birmingham had soared by thousands – a rise linked to budget cuts at the authority.

During a cabinet meeting earlier today, Conservative councillor Ewan Mackey said: “I think it’s important we look at this set of figures and don’t turn around and say ‘we’ve had a bin strike this year and that’s why the figures are so bad’.

“The service has some questions to look at regardless of the strike.”

Robert Alden, leader of the Conservative group at the council, said: “These figures are pre-strike and already the service was only collecting three quarters of fly-tipped waste within a week.

“So that’s one in four fly-tipping incidents not being collected within a week.”

Coun Majid Mahmood, the cabinet member for environment, said the council’s administration knew before the strike that the waste service was not “performing as well as it should”.

“This is exactly why we’re transforming the service,” he said.

On bin collections, he added: “We are working hard to keep the service going but this Key Performance Indicator will not improve with Unite’s decision to increase their strike.”

Coun Mahmood went on to say the council was working on a street management transformation programme with the aim of addressing issues of cleanliness, including fly tipping, across the city.

‘Performance expected to decline before improving’

The council performance report argued that the worrying bin collection figures in the third quarter of the year had been “affected by industrial relations challenges”.

“Although this period predates the start of industrial action, it coincides with the implementation phase of removing the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role,” it said.

“While the direct impact is difficult to quantify, this context is important for understanding recent performance trends.”

It continued: “In summary, performance is expected to decline before improving, due to both industrial action and the change programme being implemented throughout 2025.”

Steps expected to lead to improved performance include replacement vehicles, a replacement IT system and new recycling bins.

Unite organised the Birmingham bins strike amid the council’s plans to scrap the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role, which the union described as “safety-critical”.

Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab recently said: “The council could end this dispute tomorrow by agreeing to pay a decent rate of pay.

“The council is forcing dedicated workers onto pay levels barely above the minimum wage while undertaking a difficult and highly demanding job in all weathers.”

He continued: “Disruption to Birmingham’s refuse service will further deteriorate but this is the fault of a heartless council which has slashed pay without a thought to the affect it is having on workers and their families.”

The city council said it had made a “fair and reasonable offer” to Unite and alternatives have been offered to the “small number of workers whose wages are impacted ongoing by the changes to the service”.

“Residents of Birmingham want and deserve a better waste collection service and the restructure that Unite is opposing is part of the much-needed transformation of the service,” a council spokesperson previously said.

On the wider financial crisis at the council, external auditors recently highlighted several issues and missteps including the equal pay debacle, inadequate budget setting, poor service management, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT and finance system.

Labour councillors have also highlighted the impact of funding cuts over the past decade or so.