Bin collections in strike are a 'postcode lottery'

Residents claim there has been a bin collection "postcode lottery" during the strike in Birmingham, with some areas having bins collected more often than others.

A reduced fleet of trucks has been rolled out along with mobile household waste centres, but people in areas like Small Heath claim they are being ignored.

Unite the Union claimed refuse workers had reported that waste managers were concentrating on clearing "more affluent, less built-up areas" because collecting rubbish was "easier".

Birmingham City Council said disruptions were down to Unite blocking refuse trucks from leaving depots, and therefore preventing crews from collecting residents' bins.

Unite claimed it had also heard reports that commercial waste contracts were being prioritised over collections for residents to avoid "jeopardising revenue streams".

"This behaviour would not be out of character for Birmingham council - which seems intent on making the least well-off workers and communities pay for politicians' mistakes," said its national lead officer, Onay Kasab.

The authority declared a major incident on Monday over concerns for public health.

"We thank the police for their support during this challenging time," it said.

"It is unfortunate that we need their support and would prefer a situation where this is not the case.

"Everyone has a right to protest, and we would urge those involved to remember their responsibilities and show respect to their colleagues."

Basmin Khan, a resident of Swanage Road, Small Heath, said residents had to "fight their way through" rubbish.

"The fact that we haven't had a collection for six weeks is unacceptable... because other areas within Birmingham have had a collection," she told the BBC.

"So the question needs to be asked: 'Why is the area of Small Heath being ignored, and for what reason?'"

She added that she knew of relatives in other areas who had had their rubbish collected.

"We want to be treated fairly; we want to be treated the way that every other area is treated."

On Birmingham City Council's missed bins directory, six streets in the Small Heath area are noted as having bin collections missed.

The dates last missed were all 19 March, with the reason listed as "ran out of time".

Swanage Road, where the BBC spoke to Ms Khan, is not listed as having collections missed.

Shafaq Hussain, from Small Heath, who chairs a local campaign to end the bin strikes, said he believed there had been a disparity in terms of some areas having their bins collected and some not at all.

"If the strikes are across Birmingham, why is it that some areas are more clean, or the rubbish is collected... but some areas are neglected?" he said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said the community was being "held to ransom".

"We've seen people really struggling with maggots, rats… it's had a real detrimental effect on their health.

"People are really angry and saying: 'Why are we paying? We need to be compensated or reimbursed," he said.

Social media posts have been flooded with comments from people around the city sharing their experiences.

Steph Richards works in Hall Green and said the area looked tidy, and she did not see any large piles of rubbish.

Caroline Stowe said waste in her neighbourhood had continued to be collected.

"Not all places in Birmingham are looking like this… only the places where the residents don't care for where they live," she said.

While JoJo Taylor said her bins had not been collected for two weeks.

"Seems to be a bin postcode lottery," she said.

Adam Were added: "The council have been collecting from more affluent areas of the city while ignoring the poorer areas. Two-tier council service."

The leader of the Labour-run council, John Cotton, said the authority was looking to deploy 35 street cleaning crews and vehicles to address the backlog.

"This is a result of the escalating on the picket lines that is preventing vehicles from being able to leave – they're having to leave later and later in the day and sometimes not at all, which means they can't get out and collect the waste in a number of areas of the city," he said.

"I acknowledge as the leader of this council that the waste service in this city has not been good enough for too long - that's why we've embarked on this transformation of the service because we need to make some fundamental changes to how waste works.

"So people across the city, regardless of whether you live in Sparkbrook, Stechford or Sutton Coldfield, you're getting a good quality service from the council."

The authority issues information on social media each morning about disruption, alongside a map of which area of the city each depot serves.

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