14 months since the Birmingham bin strikes began, new research shows the disruption to recycling collections may have generated 10,000 tonnes in CO₂e emissions.
Refuse workers in Birmingham have been on strike for more than 440 days, with agency staff voting to join the industrial action last year, over the city council’s decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles.
In April, Birmingham City Council and Unite the Union agreed a deal to end the year-long strike action by refuse workers in the city.
However, despite an end to the dispute being finally ‘within sight’, disruption to waste and recycling services continues across large parts of the city.
New research from Birmingham waste collection experts Divert estimates that between March 2025 and April 2026, the disruption may have generated an additional 10,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions and cost the city £2.16 million.
Figures released by Birmingham City Council show that the recycling rate for the city dropped to approximately 14%, down from 23% before strike action.
Using these figures, alongside data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Divert found that as little as 26,685 tonnes may have been recycled during the year of strike action, a 17,154 tonnes reduction.
Using standard carbon conversion estimates for lost recycling, Divert says this would have generated approximately 10,000 tonnes of additional CO₂e emissions, depending on how the waste was treated and the mix of materials.
Alongside this, if all of this material had instead been landfilled, associated landfill tax charges alone could have reached £2.16 million.
Birmingham City Council’s financial monitoring report forecast that the one-off and direct costs of the industrial dispute could total £14.6m if the industrial action continued to the end of March 2026.
