This UK city is so full of rubbish and ‘cat-sized rats’ it’s declared a major incident

Birmingham has declared a ‘major incident’ after the city was engulfed by17,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish due to a bin strike.

Rats the size of cats, piles of bin bags and residents fighting over waste collection have become common sights in the rubbish-plagued city.

The city council has pledged it will deploy dozens of street cleaners and fly-tip removers to dismantle the towers of waste.

‘Birmingham city council has today declared a major incident to address the impact of the waste service industrial action,’ it said in a statement.

Officials will also ask for help from neighbouring authorities and the government to manage the heaps of garbage, as well as the related health and fire risks.

Members of the Unite union launched the strike amid a long-running dispute over the council’s plans to scrap waste collection and recycling officer roles, causing rubbish in Birmingham to pile up and its rodent population to soar.

Council officials say depots are blocked every day by pickets, meaning workers cannot get their vehicles out to collect waste.

Recycling, green waste and bulky waste collection have all been suspended during the strike.

John Cotton, the leader of the council, said: ‘It’s regrettable that we have had to take this step, but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham.

‘I respect the right to strike and protest; however, actions on the picket line must be lawful and sadly, the behaviour of some now means we are seeing a significant impact on residents and the city’s environment.

‘Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service’s contingency plan, then we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets or improve the frequency of collections.’

The council says the level of uncollected waste in the city skyrocketed from 483 tonnes a day in the week of March 10 to almost 900 tonnes a day in the week of March 24.

The number of properties receiving one bin collection a week dropped from 87% to 17% in the same period.

The major incident has been declared just days before the city’s council tax is due to rise by 7.5%

The council tax rise will act as a lifeline for the cash-strapped council, which declared effective bankruptcy in 2023.

On Sunday, talks between Unite and the council slumped to a new low, with the union’s leader, Sharon Graham, accusing it of ‘bullyboy tactics’ and describing its behaviour as ‘absolutely disgusting’.

Unite claims that 150 workers could lose £8,000 per year in pay under the council’s plans.

The council denies the claims, saying the plans to restructure the service are a crucial part of the authority’s efforts to become financially sustainable.

Grahame Turner, technical manager at the National Pest Technicians Association (NPTA), described the waste build-up as a ‘huge public health danger’, advising residents to take uncollected rubbish to the tip themselves.

He says that rotting food is an ‘absolute banquet’ to pests like rats, mice and even squirrels.

‘Birmingham is already extremely vulnerable due to previous strikes and infestation levels of rodents that are observed within urban areas,’ he adds.

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