Birmingham bin collections not back to normal, politicians claim

Opposition politicians person rejected claims that Birmingham's bin collections are mostly backmost to normal, arsenic concern enactment continues crossed the city.

Refuse workers from the Unite national started an all-out onslaught successful March owed to a quality with the metropolis assembly implicit changes to roles and pay.

It has attracted worldwide sum with images of ample discarded piles and claims of rats arsenic large arsenic cats, but the assembly said it had cleared the immense bulk of rubbish.

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

Delayed collections during the archetypal weeks of the onslaught were down partially to picket lines blocking trucks from leaving discarded facilities.

Striking workers insisted they were lone stopping lorries if they had information concerns, but disfigured scenes prompted Labour assembly person John Cotton to condemn what helium called "violence".

Speaking connected Friday - arsenic a "mega picket" of national members was present astatine Lifford Lane depot successful Kings Norton - Alden said helium believed bin lorries had stalled again.

He said: "What we've seen sadly implicit the past 2 weeks, since nationalist enactment from the service has been withdrawn, [is that] bin lorries person not been going retired again.

"Indeed by the extremity of the week, hardly immoderate bin lorries were going retired and that's starring to much rubbish starting to physique up connected the streets."

Khan, who is simply a Birmingham councillor arsenic good MP for Perry Barr, besides claimed galore thousands of tonnes of rubbish were inactive connected the streets.

"You spot the vexation crossed the full city," helium said. "Recyclable worldly hasn't been collected.

"What [striking bin workers] are saying is precise simple: 'We've got mortgages to pay, we've got children to raise. The outgo of surviving is going done the extortion and we conscionable privation a just deal.'"

Rachel Taylor, the Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, accused the brace of trying to people governmental points.

"The authorities [has] stepped successful and enactment their value down the metropolis assembly to get bin lorries retired and rubbish collected," she said.

"There's a tenable connection connected the array and it is successful the interests of each the radical successful Birmingham that each parties get astir the array and get this sorted."

Birmingham City Council said it had cleared 100% of the ample piles of discarded successful the blistery spot areas and 85% crossed the remainder of the city.

While recycling collections stay suspended, it has urged residents to proceed putting retired household discarded bins for collection.

"Before concern enactment began, our crews were collecting astir 1,000 to 1,100 tonnes of discarded per day," the section authority's website reads.

"However, successful caller weeks, our crews person collected 1,500 to 1,700 tonnes of discarded each day, with a reduced team.

"This highlights the request for translation successful the work we supply to residents."