Refunds over abandoned garden waste service

Residents who subscribed to Birmingham's garden waste collection will be refunded after the service failed to get under way, the council has announced.

The seasonal service, which costs users £61.80, had been due to start in early March, but was delayed due to the all-out industrial action by refuse collectors.

Birmingham City Council confirmed in a statement that "all subscribers for 2025" would be "automatically" reimbursed, as the strikes meant it was unable to provide the usual service.

It is not yet known when the service will resume.

Unite union members have walked out over pay and working conditions in a dispute that has left rubbish piled high on the streets and the city plagued with rats.

The council previously said residents could visit the city's household recycling centres if they had garden waste to dispose of.

However, one week after the all-out strike started, residents in Tyseley told the BBC that they were struggling to book an appointment at the local site.

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