BBC News, West Midlands
BBC Midlands Today
BBCStudent Theo Charlton just cannot believe the “apocalyptic” piles of rubbish that he has seen outside his student housing in the UK’s second largest city.
With the stench of rotting waste thick in the air, the 21-year-old is concerned whether the rubbish from students moving out will get collected.
Six months since bin strike action began in Birmingham, there is no getting away from it for people living in the city.
Pamela Pritchard, from Great Barr, told the BBC she had not been transporting her recycling to the local tip “out of principle”, with the 68-year-old storing it inside her home.
In further strike action, kerbside green waste and recycling collections have been suspended.
Birmingham City Council said it remained committed to resolving the dispute despite its recycling rate of 22.9 % being the lowest of any unitary authority in the country, with the exception of Liverpool.
Members of the Unite union walked out in January over plans to downgrade some roles as part of the city council’s attempts to sort out its equal pay liabilities.
An all-out indefinite strike was announced in March and a deal to end industrial action has not yet been reached.
Ms Pritchard told the BBC she had been collecting her recycling rubbish and storing it indoors since the strike began.
Among the growing piles of neatly stored cardboard, papers and blister packs, she said if the strike went on any longer, she would “learn to live with it”.
She said: “I don’t drive. On principle I refuse to allow my friends to use their time to take my rubbish to the tip, so I’ve left it in the house.
“I’ve always been a keen recycler and I hate wasted resources.
“[If the strike continues] I’ll find somewhere else, I’ll store it in the shed I’ll ask a friend – I’ll find a home for it.”
At his hub for student housing, Mr Charlton told the BBC that when students moved out for the summer, mountains of rubbish were left behind.
He said: “The other day I was looking at everyone moving out and it was apocalyptic the amount of rubbish [they left behind].
“People don’t prepare for leaving, they just dump so much stuff. I thought to myself that’s going to be there for ages, its not going to get collected.”
The 21-year-old said that, as he did not drive, he was unable to get to a recycling point.
Fellow student Dan Savill echoed the concerns. The 20-year-old, who is moving to university for his final year, said he was still making an effort to separate his recycling, even though the collections had been “selective”.
He also said that as recycling was not being collected, people were putting that rubbish in with the black bin collections.
“There’s rubbish in both bins not being taken. The priority at this point should be taking everything somewhere. Ideally recycling – but all of the general waste should be gone first.”
Councillor Izzy Knowles said people living in flats in Moseley had little to no recycling facilities.
“The recycling is totally full up. It’s getting contaminated. [Some] don’t have cars, even if they go to the tip they’re not allowed in as pedestrians.”
The Liberal Democrat councillor said the council should be organising recycling trucks and garden waste trucks at mobile household waste centres.
Birmingham City Council said it was focused on delivering a “transformation” of waste collection services which would boost their recycling rates.
If it does not meet the government’s target rate of 65% by 2035, it could face a reduction in grant funding.
Councillor Majid Mahmood said: “This is a service that needs to be transformed to one that citizens of Birmingham deserve.
“The council remains committed to resolving the industrial action in the best interest of all parties involved.”
