Neighbouring councils help city as rubbish grows

Nearly five weeks into the Birmingham bin strike, offers of help to clear the backlog of rubbish have come from some neighbouring authorities – but other councils have said they have to put their own residents first.

Lichfield offered to send crews, Walsall extended tip opening hours and Telford provided support, but several councils said they did not have the resources.

Telford said a group of West Midlands councils were asked to provide support to help clear waste, and it stepped in "without any impact to our residents".

Meanwhile, a litter-picking group in Sparkhill told how "mountains" of bags were appearing on pavements "within hours".

All-out strike action began on 11 March following a dispute over bin workers' pay between Unite and Birmingham City Council, but talks ended in stalemate. The BBC has approached both parties for comment.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the government had called on councils "to provide mutual support" and was grateful a number had done so.

A department spokesman said: "The people of Birmingham are our first priority. This dispute is causing misery and disruption to residents, and the backlog must be dealt with quickly to address public health risks."

Authorities who were unable to help included Bromsgrove, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Wolverhampton, Solihull, Stafford and Shropshire's contractor Veolia because they said they did not have the resources.

Wolverhampton council leader Stephen Simkins said the authority had proposed other ways it might assist.

A Coventry City Council spokesman said the authority acknowledged the importance of cooperation but added: "Any decisions regarding assistance will be made based on local capacity and operational priorities."

Meanwhile, Redditch remained in talks with Birmingham "to understand what support they need and to consider what support we might offer," a spokesman said.

Of those local authorities which provided support, Walsall said Birmingham residents with proof of residence could use their tips.

Lichfield said support was being provided at a commercial rate, and Walsall said all costs of support would be recovered.

Lichfield's offer of help, one woman who had taken her rubbish to the tip each week wrote on Facebook: "A very big thank you to Lichfield District Council - the enormous piles of rubbish around my area are ridiculous."

Other social media users criticised media reports and said many parts of the city were fine.

Abdul Khan, from volunteer group Sparkhill Litter Busters, said it was "bad in certain areas".

He said bins were full, waste left nearby was mounting up, and people were dumping their rubbish on street corners: "The next thing you know, within a few hours, there's a whole mountain of bags."

First there were the cats and rats, and now there is the heat with the warm weather, and health is a worry, he said.

The litter group's coordinator added Birmingham City Council was now "playing catch-up" with 17,000 tonnes of rubbish.

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