Birmingham in rubbish row
Mountains of bin bags and rats in the streets: angry residents in parts of Birmingham say their rubbish hasn’t been collected for almost a month.
Refuse collections have been hit by a combination of cold weather and industrial action – at a time of year when there’s already far more household waste than usual.
December’s heavy snow and icy roads meant many collections were cancelled for safety reasons, as it was deemed too dangerous for refuse trucks to negotiate slippery roads.
On top of that, hundreds of binmen have been involved in a work to rule, after a one-day strike before Christmas, in a long running dispute over pay. The dispute relates to the council’s obligation to equalise pay rates between men and women, under the Equal Pay legislation – but the GMB union claimed some workers, like binmen, could be left £4,000 worse off.
Extra crews
Birmingham’s deployed some 19 extra rubbish crews since December 27th, together with teams of temporary binmen drafted in over the New Year Bank Holiday weekend. Their pay has been bumped up from £6 to £10 an hour, and agency street sweepers have also been asked to pitch in, in an effort to clear the massive backlog.
But many families are still furious: one told the local paper that there hadn’t been a bin bag in sight for weeks – while a single mother described the situation as “disgusting” – saying she’d seen two rats running around outside.
It’s not just Birmingham which has problems. In Darlington, rubbish trucks broke down on New Year’s Eve – due to “mechanical problems” – making their backlog even worse.
Exeter Council’s leader, says the Telegraph, described his city’s rubbish mountain as “not a major problem”. Although some alleyways are knee-deep in black bin bags, apparently there’s always a bright side. “The cold weather will slow decomposition of waste and odours will be minimal”.
Angry householders are taking to the internet to vent their frustration – one writing on Twitter “Having to burn rubbish… bins full”. Another suggested filling an old oil drum with refuse and setting fire to it – but please, don’t try this at home.
In common with a number of authorities, Exeter has refused to lay on extra collections over the Christmas holiday period, despite the over-flowing bins.
Nationwide problem
From Essex to North Somerset, residents are simply being advised to take their sacks of rotting rubbish back home. Birmingham council’s website tells anyone whose collection didn’t happen today: “Please take your waste back and place it within the boundary of your property…and we will collect it as soon as possible.”
But individual councillors are still telling people to leave their bin bags on the pavements as usual: one telling constituents in Bourneville: “How much crews will be able to collect tomorrow is unknown. That is as helpful, in terms of when the surplus waste will be collected, as I can be.”
Birmingham council leaders said staffing levels were now back to normal after the Christmas break. But even with extra agency staff, they admitted progress would be slow – and it would take some time to clear the growing mounds of refuse which are still piling up in the streets.
In some parts of the country, councils have asked people to take their own rubbish to the tip – creating long queues of traffic outside official dumps. In Edinburgh, temporary skips have been set up in supermarket car parks and school playgrounds – after reports that rubbish had been uncleared for several weeks.