Council burns recyclable material amid bin strike

Birmingham City Council has admitted it is incinerating some of the recycling rubbish collected from residents during the ongoing bin strike.

There are fears of city-wide disruption after the union Unite said members would step up their industrial action and walk out for 12 days this month and 13 days in March.

The council confirmed this week that recycling collections had now been suspended.

Residents have been told to take their paper, glass, plastic and tin to a tip instead.

"The council is making every effort to make sure waste collection services continue during this period of industrial action," a spokesperson for the council said.

The authority would, they added, try to recover recyclable materials via a treatment process when general waste was collected.

The council said if this was not possible, material would be used as a fuel source to generate electricity, with "thermal" treatment at its Tyseley incinerator able to produce power for up to 60,000 homes.

BBC analysis from October found that burning rubbish in incinerators to make electricity was the dirtiest way the UK generates power, with scientists warning of a "disaster for the climate".

The BBC examined five years of data from across the country, and found that burning waste produces the same amount of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy as coal power, which was abandoned by the UK last year.

Veolia, which operates the Energy Recovery Facility in Tyseley, says it is built to comply with strict European emissions standards that came into force in 1996.

The news that recycling collections had been suspended came as the cash-strapped council revealed a planned 7.5% council tax rise in the new financial year, on top of the near 10% rise imposed last April.

Unite says members are striking over the council's decision to abolish the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role - a position it describes as "safety critical".

The city council has insisted its planned changes would improve the quality of service delivery and safety.

In a statement, it previously said: "We are disappointed this action is taking place, but we are continuing to work through the dispute resolution procedure.

"We would like to assure residents that we will do all we can to minimise disruption during any potential industrial action."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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