Mounting rubbish 'getting ridiculous' say Birmingham residents, as bin strikes continue

People in Birmingham are telling us the problem of mounting rubbish as bin strikes continue is 'getting ridiculous'.

It's as the second week of indefinite strike action gets underway, following plans by the city council to axe what Unite the union says is a 'safety critical' role.

We spoke to some of the city's student population to find out how they've been impacted.

"Our bins haven't been collected for three or four weeks now, maybe more. There's just a pile of rubbish in our house now which isn't ideal," said one man we spoke to

"You'll see across the road there's quite a few bin bags and bins just lying out, and it doesn't look great," said another student.

But obviously it was taken on time it would be a lot better."

One student said the strikes were leading to a problem with vermin.

"It's creating loads of problems with rats, and it's just a bit disgusting," she said.

One student we spoke to said she understood why bin workers were striking:

"At the same time you've got to respect them striking if they aren't being paid fairly."

Another student said the strikes are having an even bigger impact on people who don't have cars.

"They're advising to go to the skip in your car, but if you don't have a car you can't do that."

Another agreed: "There's so much rubbish you can't walk to the skip with it."

One student said he hasn't been able to recycle as normal.

"It's been building up in my kitchen so I've been leaving a lot of the recycling in our normal bin because you have to get rid of it somehow."

Birmingham City Council is using agency staff while strikes continue.

On Friday, they said waste trucks had been unable to leave one of their depots due to disruption by striking bin workers.

Councillor John Cotton, leader of the council, said:

"I absolutely and utterly condemn the violent scenes we have witnessed on the picket line. People absolutely have the right to go to work without fear of violence or intimidation.

"I certainly urge Unite to call this out do everything in their power to stop this. I'd also like to thank the police for their careful work to maintain work. People have the right to protest and take industrial action but that has to be done in the right way."

A spokesperson for the city council said:

"Residents of Birmingham want and deserve a better waste collection service and the restructure that Unite is opposing is part of the much-needed transformation of the service.

"Our door is still open, and we would encourage Unite to come back to the table."

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