The 100-Year Life Health Education and Government
Documentaries often use footage of binbags to epitomise the dire state of the UK during the Winter of Discontent. There are similar scenes in Birmingham this week.
Yesterday the city council declared a major incident in week four of a refuse worker strike, saying the heaps of rubbish posed a public health risk.
Members of the Unite trade union walked out after contract restructures were blamed for leaving some workers thousands of pounds worse off.
It’s currently estimated that 17,000 tonnes of rubbish, about the weight of thirteen giant sequoia trees, sit on the streets of the UK’s second largest city.
This is the latest calamity for a council that effectively declared bankruptcy in 2023.
Since then nearly £150 million worth of cuts have targeted social care services, leisure centres and bin collections, with more savings needed to balance the books before 2026.
Emergency council tax increases were approved last year and will kick in this month.
Meanwhile, until an agreement is found, food waste rots in the spring sunshine.
