Residents at the Heart of Birmingham’s Expanding Waste Pilot
Following a successful food waste pilot, Birmingham City Council will be starting a larger waste improvement pilot on Tuesday 30 June, in North Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield.
The waste improvement pilot will see the return of recycling collections, supported by the introduction of a second recycling bin to improve recycling rates, weekly food waste collections, and with leftover waste which cannot be recycled would be collected as part of the fortnightly general waste collections, providing a higher waste collection capacity for households.
The new bins will be delivered to households from 30 June, with collections starting on 6 July.
The effectiveness of this pilot will be assessed before a decision is made whether to keep this waste collection arrangement and to roll it across the city. Testing of additional waste collection methods will begin shortly in other areas of the city as part of the pilot programme. Residents will be notified in advance of any changes.
To support the pilot, further resources for the clean ups of local areas and mobile household recycling centres, supported by targeted enforcement, will also be introduced.
Councillor Harris Khaliq, Cabinet Member for City Services and Digital, said: “One of our key commitments as the council’s new administration is to clean up this fantastic city, which is why it’s essential that we improve waste collection and test the best way to do this in Birmingham. We took a step back and reflected on the transformation programme, and this approach is designed to give households more opportunities to recycle, provide more capacity for their waste and put in additional measures to tackle issues such as fly-tipping.
“Birmingham’s new administration is absolutely focused on making sure this city has a waste service residents can be proud of. We have listened to people’s concerns and will continue to do so, adjusting the new ways of working based on feedback throughout the pilot phase.
“Birmingham must have a waste service that works and provides value for money. If we continue with low recycling rates, the city could lose out on millions of pounds of government funding that could go back into funding services for residents.
“The new system means people get more collections, more value for money and cleaner streets. We want to work with everyone in the pilot areas to make this a success that can benefit the whole city.
“In parallel with the new service there will be more cctv cameras and new enforcement officers to help clean up the city.
“I’d like to thank the residents on the food waste pilot scheme for participating and helping us understand the requirements for a new collection service. This scheme has helped us understand how best to continue with a secondary pilot in the North Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield area and supports our ambitions to become a cleaner, greener city.”
Since launching in March 2026, the food waste pilot has successfully collected over 110 tonnes of food waste, which has been transformed into green energy and fertiliser. This marks a significant step forward in reducing waste and cutting carbon emissions across the city.
Residents taking part in the food waste pilot were provided with kitchen caddies and encouraged to recycle all food waste, such as fruit and vegetable peelings, leftovers, mouldy or stale food, eggshells and tea bags.
Delivered to 10,000 households across selected neighbourhoods in the city, the findings will be used to inform this new, larger waste improvement pilot.
The aim of the programme is to bring Birmingham into line with other councils, improve the city’s recycling rates, and provide a service our residents need and deserve.
Residents will receive regular communications about these improvements and when they can expect to receive the new service.
Households in the following wards may be included in the pilot:
- Aston
- Birchfield
- Castle Vale
- Erdington
- Gravelly Hill
- Handsworth
- Handsworth Wood
- Holyhead
- Kingstanding
- Lozells
- Oscott
- Perry Barr
- Perry Common
- Pype Hayes
- Stockland Green
- Sutton Four Oaks
- Sutton Mere Green
- Sutton Reddicap
- Sutton Roughley
- Sutton Trinity
- Sutton Vesey
- Sutton Walmley and Minworth
- Sutton Wylde Green
