Angry Birmingham residents say they’ve had enough of the city’s ongoing bin crisis — as the strike reaches its fifth week with more than 21,000 tonnes of waste now left uncollected.
Locals are now organising community meetings and petitions to demand urgent action, warning that the situation is spiralling into a full-blown public health emergency.
Healthcare assistant and mother-of-one Nicola Walker is leading the charge. She’s lived in Birmingham for over 14 years and says she’s "never seen anything like it."
She told GB News: "I think a lot of Birmingham people right now are very frustrated, and the fact that council tax has gone up doesn’t help.
Residents are having to walk on the road to avoid the waste
PA"Where’s that money going? Because we’re certainly not seeing it in the streets."
Her petition calling for urgent clean-up action has already gathered over 6,000 signatures on Change.org.
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She’s now arranged a public meeting this weekend to bring the community together and push for answers.
"We’re hoping to come up with real solutions — especially for people who can’t get to the tip, like pensioners or the disabled. This is affecting everyone.
"There’s no backup plan. Nothing. They’re dragging their feet while we deal with the rats, the flies, the maggots,” Walker said.
“People are literally crying because they feel abandoned.”
Negotiations between Birmingham City Council and the Unite union are still ongoing, but so far no resolution has been reached. Meanwhile, the city’s residents are the ones "suffering".
Walker, who lives near City Hospital, said she’s no longer able to use the pavements safely due to the growing pile-ups.
She explained: "I have a two year old when I put her in her stroller to put her in the road because there is no way to use the pavement.
"What they were saying is that this — Birmingham City Council and the union and everything — could go on right through the summer
Birmingham City Council and the Unite Union have not reached a resolution
Flickr
"Now, if that goes on to the summer, we’re going to have a real environmental health [problem] on our hands."
“Anywhere is better than living in Birmingham right now,” she said. “It’s a mess. A real, real mess.”
GB News has reached out to Birmingham County Council for comment.
