Environment

Will fortnightly household waste collections mean more rubbish on the streets?

The move to fortnightly collections will not happen until we introduce mandatory food waste collections, meaning residents will have less household waste to dispose of in their existing regular bin.

Will reducing the Mobile Household Recycling Centres (MHRCs) give rise to more fly-tipping?

Everyone needs to do their bit to keep our streets clean; the council, residents, businesses, visitors. We have free-to-use household recycling centres across the city, including the newly reopened Perry Barr facility, and they all recycle even more unwanted items.

Our HRCs have plenty of capacity so residents can book online to ensure an easy trip to the tip.

Will charging for parking at parks just mean fewer people will use the parks?

Information from other local authorities has indicated that the impact of this (in terms of reduced parks use) is likely to be limited.

The risk will be further reduced by the proposed introduction of an annual parking season ticket - aimed at frequent park users. An adjustment will be made to the pricing structure to accommodate regular park users, such as dog walkers.

Consultations will take place, including consultations with stakeholders where we will seek feedback on the plans.

Further consultations will then follow for the proposed parking charges and for traffic restrictions (as deemed suitable by the respective highways departments). The reality is that upkeep of our parks is expensive and surplus revenue from the proposed charging scheme will go towards this.

Reducing street cleaning and graffiti crews is going to create more litter and more graffiti

It is important to stress that the city council does not create litter or graffiti; we are actually cleaning up mess made by inconsiderate people who don’t care about the environment.

We are all responsible for our environment and we have built up some really good relationships with community groups who are doing great work, but we need support for everyone to play their part.

Stopping the use of pesticides in parks is a false economy. You will end up spending the same, if not more, when removing weeds manually

This is more an environmental approach, trying to phase out harmful pesticides and encouraging native wildlife in controlled areas. There are also new legislative requirements that relate to biodiversity which this will help us achieve.

Page last updated: 14 March 2024