Words by Ed King
Birmingham City Council’s Public Participation Team will be in Erdington Town Centre on Thursday 16 July, inviting members of the public to talk to them about the upcoming changes to household waste and recycling collections.
The team will be situated on the pedestrianised area of Erdington High Street, by the wooden Community & Creative Hub in between B&M and Wilton Market, from 10am to 1pm.
Additional seating and cover will be provided by Erdington BID, allowing more people to have a chance to engage.
The Council team will then move over to Erdington Leisure Centre, setting up an information stand inside the sports facility by the reception, for an afternoon engagement session from 2pm to 5pm.
Both sessions are completely free to attended and require no advance booking, with members of the public attending seen on a first come first served basis.
Please note, the Public Participation Team will be able to answer questions people may have about the recently announced changes to waste and recycling collections – but are not responsible for any policy making, legislation, or disputes over working practices, employment status, and pay.
They are also looking for feedback from members of the public about the upcoming changes to waste and recycling services, which they state could “directly shape” how the services are to be delivered.
A spokesperson for the Public Participation Team told Erdington Local: “We are really pleased to have the opportunity to speak with Erdington residents directly about the upcoming changes to their waste and recycling services.
“Our goal is to help everyone understand the new weekly food waste collections and the return of recycling services, which now include additional recycling capacity.”
They added: “We are here to support the community with any questions they might have, and importantly, to gather their feedback. Listening to Erdington residents will directly shape how we communicate and roll out these services across the rest of the city.”
Birmingham City Council has been in an ongoing dispute with Waste Management works and the unions that represent them, especially Unite the Union, since January 2025.
Although the issue – reportedly about equal pay, job descriptions, and a number of potential redundancies – persists from previous Labour administrations and goes back to as far as 2017, when John Clancy was then leader of the Council.
Following the recent Local Election in May – where the Birmingham Labour Group lost control of the Council – a minority coalition was formed between the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and some independent councillors, with Cllr Roger Harmer (Lib Dems) voted in a Council Leader.
Shortly after taking office a new schedule of collections was announced, with many members of opposing parties complaining the was inadequate consultation and the new policy was forced through.
Birmingham City Council is now rolling out a citywide engagement programme, talking to members of the public about the proposed changes to their household waste and recycling service.
For more on waste and recycling services across Birmingham, visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20009/waste_and_recycling
The cardboard and paper bin is a good idea, v
But the food waste bin is not a good idea as all the rotten food waste is going to attract rats, foxes, maggits and alsorts of unwanted bugs and animals. It is going to smell badly and the larger house holds will not have enough room to get rid of there unwanted food waste! Birmingham are already in a state due to the rubbish everywhere and the bin strikes with still so much to clear up i feel for the vunerable people who cant get all there rubbish cleared and living with that let alone more waste to battle with and the pressure to try keep the rotten food waste from pests and vermin and the smell it will have in our homes its just as bad as filling a bin with dog waste and hoping that doesnt attract the bugs and flys by its smell its just not substainable! What happens when bcc bin workers go on stike again with all the waste and extra waste of rotten food boxes? I dont see how it works and if bcc just say we have wash the food waste bin often how is that happening when there will be either limited collections or No collections or Missed collections?