By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-28 22:26:17 | Updated at 2025-03-31 14:55:17
2 days ago
The true cost of Birmingham's street clean-up has been revealed as council waste workers in Birmingham continue their indefinite strike over pay and jobs, which has so far led to bins “overflowing” and rubbish lining the streets.
Strikes throughout the West Midlands city began back in January, with workers protesting against pay cuts on set isolated days.
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As the waste continues to go uncollected, the mounting piles of rubbish grow and spill into public areas, forcing residents to clean streets daily.
One resident told GB News that many have seen “signs of rodent activity” and the area was turning into a “serious health and environmental hazard” in their area.
Waste collection experts at Divert have now revealed the cost of the cleanup operation, currently standing at a whopping £129.65million.
The company started collecting their data from Christmas 2024 onwards, when some residents reported missing collections.
Over 461,000 households are covered by Birmingham City Council, which has been slammed by residents for “failing” to deal with the situation.
Divert calculated that this amounts to 2,305,000 wheelie bins worth of waste not collected, or 11,525,000 bin bags of rubbish.
To clear the vast amount of waste via a private company, it would cost almost £130million and require 82,322 vans.
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“It’s clear to see the huge scale of chaos the bin strikes are causing, and the problem will only snowball as the costs could spiral to an extra £25,931,250 per missed collection,” it said.
John Verity, waste collection expert, said: “As the Government’s row with striking bin workers continues, the public in Birmingham are the ones who are experiencing the effects of the dispute. We’re already hearing complaints of piles of rubbish strewn in the streets, and reports of pests and local pets rummaging through bin bags.
“However, the clearance of the rubbish in the long term could become a financial nightmare for the council. Calculations show the costs of privately clearing the waste have already reached extortionate figures and this will only rise as further collections are missed.
“It’s highly likely that this cost will eventually be passed on through rising council tax too, further burdening residents. It’s hard to see how residents can help bring about a resolution, but we would encourage people to pressure the local government through official channels and consider signing petitions to bring the issue to national attention.”
On one street, bins have gone uncollected for over seven weeks, with residents fearful that “overflowing” rubbish is creating a “serious health and environmental hazard” in their area.
Household waste collection on Ashton Croft in Ladywood has been at a standstill since January 28, and homeowners have since started to spot “rodent activity” near their homes.
One resident, George Smith, told GB News of his and other residents’ frustration at the mounting waste outside their properties and the lack of council action.
He said: “The uncollected rubbish, now accumulating for over six weeks, has created a severe public health and environmental hazard. Communal bins are overflowing onto the streets, with all bin lids permanently open due to excessive household waste.
“Ripped bin bags indicate vermin activity, and residents have reported evidence of rodent activity also in their gardens.”
Smith said Birmingham City Council has “failed” to deal with the situation, telling residents to continue to put their rubbish outside as usual.
The decline in services comes as the local authority is set to raise its council tax by 7.5 per cent in April, a figure way above the standard 4.99 per cent.
It previously wanted to increase the levy by 9.99 per cent, stating that it would not be able to set a lawfully balanced budget without the increase. However, this was rejected by the Government.
Birmingham City Council has been slammed by vexed residents for increasing the levy in spite of a “deterioration in essential services such as waste collection”.
Residents have been appalled by the state of the streets thanks to the strikes
George Smith
The council says plans to restructure the service are crucial as it attempts to save £300million over two years, having effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023.
The authority outlined plans last month to cut £148million from this year's budget.
Last week, desperate residents swarmed a bin lorry in the affluent Mosely suburb, with a concerned councillor calling the police to intervene.
The bin lorry - which was stationary in a single location - allows residents whose bins aren't being collected to drop their rubbish off.
One observer called the scene “binmageddon”, with citizens arriving in cars filled with black bags of rubbish. West Midlands Police confirmed two people have been arrested this week in connection with the industrial action.
The escalating dispute centres on the council's use of temporary labour, which the union claims is being used to “undermine” their industrial action.
Onay Kasab, Unite's national lead officer, said the union has claimed the council could end the dispute “by agreeing to pay a decent rate”.
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council condemned the strikes as “unacceptable”.
“These daily disruptions have been blocking our refuse trucks from leaving our depots which is preventing us from collecting residents' bins,” they said.
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