When major Birmingham clean-up operation could happen after city council declares bin strike major incident

With an estimated 17,000 tonnes of uncollected waste and some areas not having collections for several weeks due to the ongoing bins strike, the city council is taking action in a bid to deploy the waste service’s contingency plan.

The council has said its contingency allows 90 vehicles per day but claimed it can currently only get one vehicle out per hour due to pickets at the depots.

It added that the declaration of the major incident will allow the authority to work with partners to focus on support to allow the vehicles to safely exit and enter depots on time.

Council leader John Cotton added this week that the backlog of waste on the streets will unable to be cleared unless the council declares a major incident and deploys the contingency plan.

With enormous mountains of rubbish blighting neighbourhoods and attracting rats, many residents are wondering when exactly the situation will improve when the trucks can leave the depots on time.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday (April 3), the council’s cabinet member for environment Coun Majid Mahmood said he was aware of areas which have not had collections in six or seven weeks.

“Once we are able to get the 90 trucks out, it will take us a fortnight, possibly three/four weeks, to try and get us back to where we should be in terms of the delivery of the service for the people,” he said.

“But after that, it’ll take us at least three/four weeks to get the clean-up of the city as to where we want it to be.

“It all depends on the support that we get from all our different partners.”

The strike started back in January and was triggered by a dispute between the council and the Unite union over plans to scrap a role within the waste service.

The disagreement has split opinion among Birmingham’s residents and sparked calls for resignations at the city council.

As part of its contingency arrangements, the council said it was increasing caretaking capacity for council tower blocks to avoid the “build-up of refuse and improve fire safety”.

It is also looking to increase the opening hours of its tips for a second time to increase capacity.

The council has increased the availability of its mobile household waste collection vehicles from five to seven days a week too.

“It’s regrettable we have had to take this step, but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham,” Coun Cotton said.

“Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service’s contingency plan, then we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets or improve the frequency of collections.

“I want to thank residents for their continued patience under difficult circumstances and the community groups who have been working hard within their communities to help with clear-up.”

The council said this week that declaring a major incident would initially allow it to:

• Quickly increase the availability of street cleansing and fly-tip removal with an additional 35 vehicles and crews around the city.
• Work with partners to better manage the risks the city is facing, including health and fire risks and allow for increased data and intelligence sharing.
• Initially this will be focussed upon ‘support to allow its vehicles to safely exit and enter depots’.
• Explore what further support is available from neighbouring authorities and government to assist in managing the situation.

The council’s plans to scrap the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role is at the centre of the dispute.

“The council is forcing dedicated workers onto pay levels barely above the minimum wage while undertaking a difficult and highly demanding job in all weathers,” Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said previously.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham also argued the council had tried to “smear Birmingham refuse workers with totally baseless accusations of threats and intimidation on peaceful picket lines.”

But Coun Mahmood said recently that council had made a “fair and reasonable offer”, adding: “Not a single worker needs to lose a penny.

“Every worker has been offered the same grade and the same pay within the street scene division of the city council.

“We’re here because we are trying to transform and modernise the service.”