'It's a stinking mess on our estate': Rubbish piles up after move to two week collections during bin strike

Piles of rotting rubbish are once again littering the streets of Birmingham after council bosses decided to introduce fortnightly rubbish collections - in the middle of the bin strike.

Residents have blasted the decision to move to two-weekly collections after mounds of overflowing rubbish began appearing on doorsteps just days after the new measures were introduced.

These images were taken at the end of last week.

Locals say the "shambolic" new waste collection service is already causing chaos in the city where workers have been on strike for an unprecedented 18 months.

The fortnightly collections, as well as weekly food waste collections, are being trialled in the north of Birmingham, including the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, which is home to Premier League footballers from Aston Villa.

Homeowners living in the Falcon Lodge area of the picturesque town have already seen festering piles of rubbish piling up outside their properties which they say is attracting rats and foxes.

They have now questioned the decision to introduce the new collections while the industrial action rumbles on alongside there still being no recycling services.

Unite and Birmingham City Council remain deadlocked with the union claiming a deal to end the bin strike was agreed in March, which the authority disputes.

Grandfather-of-three Gareth Copplestone-Jones, 69, an IT consultant from Falcon Lodge, where property prices average £500,000, said: "I feel the fortnightly household waste collections are going to prove a big problem, certainly for larger families.

"They need to either give them bigger bins or revert back to weekly because the area is in a mess already and it only started on July 7.

"The council's scheduling has been wrong and they told us the wrong date at first.

"Now they have said collections won't be made until next Tuesday now, which will make it three weeks so the problem is going to only get worse.

"When I walk my dogs there's the issue of bin bags strewn across the road so there's the problem of them trying to eat waste.

"It is a health hazard and also attract pests - there will be rats and insects everywhere.

"Ants are also able to get into the new food waste bins as are clever foxes, so they need to be looked at as well. It's not good at all.

"Flats are being badly affected already as they generate more rubbish collectively and with communal waste bins are filling up and overflowing.

"And on top of this we're still having to take our own recycling away."

Residents say to add to the "shambles" a food waste collection team went out in their vans last week - but before the food waste boxes had even been delivered.

Dad-of-one Phil Sawyer, 41, said: "It's a stinking mess on our estate and it is proving to be a shambles so far.

"We've had 18 months of our recycling not being collected and now we have bin bags piling up all over the place.

"The food waste vans came out before the boxes were even delivered, they can't even get their dates right.

"It is disgusting and they should never have started this before they have even settled the strike action. It beggars belief.

"I fear for the health of my son and won't let him play outside anymore as I've seen rats.

"Also having visitors around is pretty embarrassing at the moment and we're supposed to live in a nice area here.

"That is probably why they are trialling it here so goodness knows what will happen once they role it out across the more deprived, densely populated areas of the city."

Conservative Councillor Richard Parkin said in a video posted on social media: "I am actually really annoyed. The council has introduced this waste pilot scheme without any consultation with councillors.

“They have introduced fortnightly household waste collections and they have alco included in the scheme flats.

“I warned them this would happen and they have gone ahead anyway. It’s an absolute disgrace.

“I’m beyond livid. The council are a disaster. They need to come out and get this cleared.

“And they need to stop fortnightly waste collections outside flats. It isn’t working. It’s not going to work and they have let everybody down."

The new fortnightly rubbish collections are being rolled out under the new Green Party, Liberal Democrat and Better Birmingham Independent Group minority coalition after Labour lost power at the May elections.

The council had said it was starting a ‘larger waste improvement pilot’ from June 30 after an earlier ‘successful food waste pilot’.

Birmingham City Council has been approached for comment by SWNS.