diff --git a/crates/walrus-service/src/node.rs b/crates/walrus-service/src/node.rs
index c8695b3f22..c5375b1a06 100644
--- a/crates/walrus-service/src/node.rs
+++ b/crates/walrus-service/src/node.rs
@@ -959,6 +959,10 @@ impl StorageNode {
                 ?error,
                 "failed to check and start garbage collection on startup"
             );
+            // Fallback: mark up to the current epoch as done so that the first
+            // epoch change's wait_for_blob_info_cleanup doesn't block indefinitely.
+            self.garbage_collector
+                .mark_blob_info_cleanup_done_at_least(self.inner.committee_service.get_epoch());
         }
 
         select! {
@@ -1840,6 +1844,10 @@ impl StorageNode {
             c.sync_node_params().await?;
         }
 
+        // Note: blob info cleanup for the previous epoch is guaranteed to be complete
+        // because it runs inline in start_garbage_collection_task (called at the end of
+        // the previous epoch's process_epoch_change_start_event). No explicit wait needed.
+
         // Start storage node consistency check if
         // - consistency check is enabled
         // - node is not reprocessing events (blob info table should not be affected by future
@@ -1934,6 +1942,10 @@ impl StorageNode {
                 last_completed_epoch,
                 "previous garbage-collection task already completed; skipping restart"
             );
+            // No GC restart needed. Mark up to the current epoch as done so that the
+            // first epoch change's wait_for_blob_info_cleanup doesn't block.
+            self.garbage_collector
+                .mark_blob_info_cleanup_done_at_least(self.inner.committee_service.get_epoch());
             return Ok(());
         }
 
@@ -1951,6 +1963,10 @@ impl StorageNode {
                 "the Walrus epoch has changed since the last garbage-collection task was started; \
                 skipping restart"
             );
+            // GC for previous epochs is stale (epoch changed). Mark up to the last
+            // started epoch as done so the next epoch change can proceed.
+            self.garbage_collector
+                .mark_blob_info_cleanup_done_at_least(last_started_epoch);
             return Ok(());
         }
 
diff --git a/crates/walrus-service/src/node/garbage_collector.rs b/crates/walrus-service/src/node/garbage_collector.rs
index 2856e51f8e..841385abb7 100644
--- a/crates/walrus-service/src/node/garbage_collector.rs
+++ b/crates/walrus-service/src/node/garbage_collector.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
 use rand::{Rng, SeedableRng, rngs::StdRng};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use serde_with::{DurationSeconds, serde_as};
-use tokio::sync::Mutex;
+use tokio::sync::{Mutex, watch};
 use walrus_core::Epoch;
 use walrus_sui::types::GENESIS_EPOCH;
 
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ use crate::node::{StorageNodeInner, metrics::NodeMetricSet};
 #[serde(default)]
 pub struct GarbageCollectionConfig {
     /// Whether to enable the blob info cleanup at the beginning of each epoch.
+    ///
+    /// The configured value is ignored by the garbage collector, which always enables it.
     pub enable_blob_info_cleanup: bool,
     /// Whether to delete metadata and slivers of expired or deleted blobs.
     pub enable_data_deletion: bool,
@@ -93,19 +95,31 @@ pub(super) struct GarbageCollector {
     metrics: Arc<NodeMetricSet>,
     /// Handle to the background task performing database cleanup.
     task_handle: Arc<Mutex<Option<tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>>>>,
+    /// Tracks the last epoch for which blob info cleanup completed.
+    blob_info_cleanup_done: watch::Sender<Epoch>,
 }
 
 impl GarbageCollector {
     pub fn new(
-        config: GarbageCollectionConfig,
+        mut config: GarbageCollectionConfig,
         node: Arc<StorageNodeInner>,
         metrics: Arc<NodeMetricSet>,
     ) -> Self {
+        if !config.enable_blob_info_cleanup {
+            tracing::warn!(
+                "ignoring `garbage_collection.enable_blob_info_cleanup: false`; \
+                blob info cleanup is always enabled"
+            );
+            config.enable_blob_info_cleanup = true;
+        }
+
+        let (blob_info_cleanup_done, _) = watch::channel(GENESIS_EPOCH);
         Self {
             config,
             node,
             metrics,
             task_handle: Arc::new(Mutex::new(None)),
+            blob_info_cleanup_done,
         }
     }
 
@@ -131,48 +145,49 @@ impl GarbageCollector {
     ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         if epoch == GENESIS_EPOCH {
             tracing::info!("garbage collection is not relevant in the genesis epoch");
-            return Ok(());
-        }
-
-        let garbage_collection_config = self.config;
-
-        if !garbage_collection_config.enable_blob_info_cleanup {
-            if garbage_collection_config.enable_data_deletion {
-                tracing::warn!(
-                    "data deletion is enabled, but requires blob info cleanup to be enabled; \
-                    skipping data deletion",
-                );
-            } else {
-                tracing::info!("garbage collection is disabled, skipping cleanup");
-            }
+            self.blob_info_cleanup_done.send_replace(epoch);
             return Ok(());
         }
 
         let mut task_handle = self.task_handle.lock().await;
         let garbage_collector = self.clone();
 
-        // If there is an existing task, we need to abort it first before starting a new one.
+        // If there is an existing task (data deletion), abort it before starting a new one.
         if let Some(old_task) = task_handle.take() {
-            tracing::info!("aborting existing garbage-collection task before starting a new one");
+            tracing::info!(
+                "aborting existing garbage-collection task (data deletion phase) \
+                before starting a new one"
+            );
             old_task.abort();
             let _ = old_task.await;
         }
 
-        // Store the current epoch in the DB before spawning the background task.
+        // Store the current epoch in the DB before running cleanup.
         self.node
             .storage
             .set_garbage_collector_last_started_epoch(epoch)?;
         self.metrics
             .set_garbage_collection_last_started_epoch(epoch);
 
-        // Calculate target time and update metric before spawning the background task.
+        // Phase 1: Run blob info cleanup immediately (no random delay).
+        // This updates aggregate blob info counts for expired blob objects and must
+        // complete before the next epoch change for consistency. Running it inline
+        // (rather than in a spawned task) guarantees completion before this function
+        // returns.
+        if let Err(error) = self.perform_blob_info_cleanup(epoch).await {
+            tracing::error!(?error, epoch, "blob info cleanup failed");
+        }
+        self.blob_info_cleanup_done.send_replace(epoch);
+
+        // Phase 2: Spawn data deletion as a background task with random delay to
+        // spread I/O load across nodes. This phase can be safely aborted by the
+        // next epoch's GC without affecting blob info consistency.
         let target_time = self.cleanup_target_time(epoch, epoch_start);
         self.metrics
             .garbage_collection_task_start_time
             .set(target_time.timestamp().try_into().unwrap_or_default());
 
         let new_task = tokio::spawn(async move {
-            // Sleep until the target time.
             let sleep_duration = (target_time - Utc::now())
                 .to_std()
                 .unwrap_or(Duration::ZERO);
@@ -180,13 +195,13 @@ impl GarbageCollector {
                 tracing::info!(
                     target_time = target_time.to_rfc3339(),
                     ?sleep_duration,
-                    "sleeping before performing garbage collection",
+                    "sleeping before performing data deletion",
                 );
                 tokio::time::sleep(sleep_duration).await;
             }
 
-            if let Err(error) = garbage_collector.perform_db_cleanup_task(epoch).await {
-                tracing::error!(?error, epoch, "garbage-collection task failed");
+            if let Err(error) = garbage_collector.perform_data_deletion(epoch).await {
+                tracing::error!(?error, epoch, "data deletion failed");
             }
         });
 
@@ -195,6 +210,30 @@ impl GarbageCollector {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Waits for blob info cleanup (process_expired_blob_objects) to complete for the given epoch.
+    /// Returns immediately if the cleanup for that epoch (or a later one) already completed.
+    pub(super) async fn wait_for_blob_info_cleanup(&self, epoch: Epoch) {
+        let mut rx = self.blob_info_cleanup_done.subscribe();
+        // wait_for returns immediately if the predicate is already satisfied.
+        let _ = rx.wait_for(|&completed| completed >= epoch).await;
+    }
+
+    /// Marks blob info cleanup as done for at least the given epoch.
+    ///
+    /// Only updates the watch channel if the given epoch is greater than the current value.
+    /// Used on startup to mark epochs that don't need GC (either already completed in a previous
+    /// run or not relevant for a fresh node).
+    pub(super) fn mark_blob_info_cleanup_done_at_least(&self, epoch: Epoch) {
+        self.blob_info_cleanup_done.send_if_modified(|current| {
+            if epoch > *current {
+                *current = epoch;
+                true
+            } else {
+                false
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
     /// Aborts any running garbage-collection task.
     pub(crate) async fn abort(&self) {
         if let Some(task_handle) = self.task_handle.lock().await.take() {
@@ -240,33 +279,26 @@ impl GarbageCollector {
             )
     }
 
-    /// Performs database cleanup operations including blob info cleanup and data deletion.
-    ///
-    /// Must only be run if blob info cleanup is enabled.
+    /// Processes expired blob objects to update aggregate blob info counts.
     ///
-    /// # Errors
-    ///
-    /// Returns an error if a DB operation fails or one of the cleanup tasks fails.
-    ///
-    /// # Panics
-    ///
-    /// Panics if blob info cleanup is not enabled.
-    async fn perform_db_cleanup_task(&self, epoch: Epoch) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-        assert!(
-            self.config.enable_blob_info_cleanup,
-            "garbage-collection task must only be run if blob info cleanup is enabled"
-        );
-
-        // Disable DB compactions during cleanup to improve performance. DB compactions are
-        // automatically re-enabled when the guard is dropped.
+    /// This is the consistency-critical phase of GC: it ensures that aggregate blob info
+    /// reflects all expirations for the epoch. It runs inline during epoch change (no
+    /// random delay) so that it completes before the next epoch starts.
+    async fn perform_blob_info_cleanup(&self, epoch: Epoch) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         let _guard = self.node.storage.temporarily_disable_auto_compactions()?;
-        tracing::info!("starting garbage collection");
+        tracing::info!("starting blob info cleanup");
 
         self.node
             .storage
             .process_expired_blob_objects(epoch, &self.metrics, self.config.blob_objects_batch_size)
-            .await?;
+            .await
+    }
 
+    /// Deletes slivers and metadata for expired blobs from disk.
+    ///
+    /// This is the I/O-heavy phase of GC. It runs in a background task after a random
+    /// delay to avoid thundering herd across nodes.
+    async fn perform_data_deletion(&self, epoch: Epoch) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         if self.config.enable_data_deletion
             && self
                 .node
@@ -278,7 +310,6 @@ impl GarbageCollector {
                 )
                 .await?
         {
-            // Update the last completed epoch after successful cleanup.
             self.node
                 .storage
                 .set_garbage_collector_last_completed_epoch(epoch)?;