Six months into Birmingham’s bins strike, rubbish is still piling high, recycling has collapsed, and landfill has doubled. Residents face vermin and missed collections while the council and union remain locked in dispute.
00:00Six months in and Birmingham is still living with the fallout of its bin strike.
00:06Streets from Bordesley Green to Selly Oak are marked by waste stacked on corners,
00:11broken glass in parks and rodents in plain sight.
00:14What began as a dispute between the council and Unite has spiralled into a crisis of public health and public trust.
00:22Residents describe dead rats on pavements, children keeping windows shut against swarms of flies
00:29and neighbours burning rubbish just to clear space.
00:32It's not isolated to one ward, from student suburbs to tower blocks in Ladywood.
00:38Compliance are the same, missed collections, overflowing bins and no clear end in sight.
00:44The numbers underline it. In the first half of this year, Birmingham sent nearly 14,000 tonnes of rubbish to landfill.
00:52Recycling has collapsed from already poor levels to just 13%.
00:55That failure carries a cost, £1.7 million in landfill tax.
01:00Money a cash-strapped council can ill afford, with more mounting every week.
01:06Unite has vowed to keep the strike going until next spring.
01:09Councils across parties call the situation intolerable.
01:13They warn the city's reputation, finances and basic services are being trashed along with its streets.
01:20City leaders cite a transformation plan is whiting, fortnightly collections, new recycling bins, weekly food waste rounds and a fleet of 151 vehicles ready to go.
01:32But until industrial action ends, the overhaul is on hold and residents are left in limbo.
01:37For now, the city faces another season of rubbish, piling up faster than the promises to clear it.
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