Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident in response to the ongoing bin strike, with thousands of tonnes of rubbish left on streets. Emergency clean-up crews are being deployed, but with union talks stalled, health concerns are rising and waste reform plans are on hold.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00In Birmingham, the bins are overflowing and so is public frustration. A major incident
00:07has now been declared as the council struggles to manage the fallout from an all-out refuse
00:12strike.
00:14Over 17,000 tonnes of waste have been left on the streets. In places like Small Heath,
00:19residents say rats have taken over front gardens and the smell is unbearable.
00:25Some areas are still getting collections but others have seen no movement for weeks.
00:30The strike began after the council proposed changes to refuse worker roles. Unite says
00:35the plan would lead to pay cuts and demotions. The council insists the offer is fair and
00:39would keep wages the same. But negotiations collapsed and neither side is backing down.
00:47With the dispute dragging on, the council is rolling out its emergency plan. 35 extra
00:51clean-up crews and vehicles are being sent out. That includes more fly-tipping removal
00:55and street cleaning but delays are still expected where picking lines are slowing vehicle access.
01:02Declaring a major incident also opens the door for help from other councils or even
01:05government support. But for now, most of the work still rests on Birmingham's shoulders.
01:11The timing couldn't be worse. The city had planned a big shake-up of how waste is managed,
01:16moving to fortnightly collections, boosting recycling and introducing food waste bins.
01:21That roll-out is now on hold. The council says the new system would reduce landfill,
01:26save money and improve reliability. Unite says the real issue is deeper cuts across
01:31the board. While politicians trade blame, the bags keep piling up and for people living
01:36near the worst of it, there's little sign of when things will finally get sorted.