Households in Lichfield and Burntwood will get their bins emptied at the start the New Year, even if they haven’t paid for the new garden waste collection service.
Lichfield District Council has been forced to cancel bin collections this week due to the icy roads.
The local authority is now delaying brown bin collections until 2018 as it prepares to clear the backlog of blue and black bins.
But with the new annual charge for garden waste collections due to be introduced at the start of the year, there had been fears households who had not subscribed might not have their bins emptied.
Lichfield District Council says it will still collect brown bins as part of its effort to catch up on routes it has missed.
A spokeswoman said: “So that we can empty blue and black bins in readiness for Christmas when households generate even more waste, we have suspended all garden waste collections until after Christmas.
“Because we know some people may not sign up to the garden waste scheme next year, we will be putting on a special garden waste collection from January 8 for two weeks, so that anyone who is not subscribing can have their garden bin emptied before their collections stop.
“People should refer to their recycling calendar and put their brown bins out on what would be their normal garden waste collection day on the weeks commencing January 8 or 15.”
The council said bin collections would now be carried out in the order they were missed.
The spokeswoman added: “We are really sorry that we have been unable to empty bins this week. The conditions have been too slippery and icy underfoot and it has not been safe for our crews or trucks.
“We had hoped to start the catch up yesterday (December 14), but snowfall has delayed our collections even further.
“We will begin to clear the backlog of blue and black bins only, starting with those who had their bins missed on Monday.
“Please leave your black and blue bins out over the weekend and early next week, until we have emptied them. We will be taking extra black and blue bin waste if bagged and placed next to your bin.”
People are advised to visit the Lichfield District Council website for updates on bin collections.