Bin collections not back to normal - politicians

Opposition politicians have rejected claims that Birmingham's bin collections are mostly back to normal, as industrial action continues across the city.

Refuse workers from the Unite union started an all-out strike in March due to a dispute with the city council over changes to roles and pay.

It has attracted worldwide coverage with images of large waste piles and claims of rats as big as cats, but the council said it had cleared the vast majority of rubbish.

However, speaking on the BBC's Politics Midlands programme, Birmingham's Conservative leader councillor Robert Alden and Independent MP Ayoub Khan both denied this was the case.

Delayed collections during the initial weeks of the strike were down partly to picket lines blocking trucks from leaving waste facilities.

Striking workers insisted they were only stopping lorries if they had safety concerns, but ugly scenes prompted Labour council leader John Cotton to condemn what he called "violence".

Speaking on Friday - as a "mega picket" of union members was present at Lifford Lane depot in Kings Norton - Alden said he believed bin lorries had stalled again.

He said: "What we've seen sadly over the last two weeks, since national support from the army has been withdrawn, [is that] bin lorries have not been going out again.

"Indeed by the end of the week, barely any bin lorries were going out and that's leading to more rubbish starting to build up on the streets."

Khan, who is a Birmingham councillor as well MP for Perry Barr, also claimed many thousands of tonnes of rubbish were still on the streets.

"You see the frustration across the whole city," he said. "Recyclable material hasn't been collected.

"What [striking bin workers] are saying is very simple: 'We've got mortgages to pay, we've got children to raise. The cost of living is going through the roof and we just want a fair deal.'"

Rachel Taylor, the Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, accused the pair of trying to score political points.

"The government [has] stepped in and put their weight behind the city council to get bin lorries out and rubbish collected," she said.

"There's a reasonable offer on the table and it is in the interests of all the people in Birmingham that all parties get around the table and get this sorted."

Birmingham City Council said it had cleared 100% of the large piles of waste in the hot spot areas and 85% across the rest of the city.

While recycling collections remain suspended, it has urged residents to continue putting out household waste bins for collection.

"Before industrial action began, our crews were collecting about 1,000 to 1,100 tonnes of waste per day," the local authority's website reads.

"However, in recent weeks, our crews have collected 1,500 to 1,700 tonnes of waste each day, with a reduced team.

"This highlights the need for transformation in the service we provide to residents."

Watch Politics Midlands on BBC One in the West Midlands at 10:00 BST on Sunday. The show will be available on iPlayer afterwards.

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