![\"Piled](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ab1a274e-e1f0-47d2-836d-23032d24c420.jpg\")
Piled up bin bags in Kitchener Road, Selly Park on Friday, May 23. Credit: Alexander Brock. Permission for use for all LDRS partners.<\/p>\nThe city\u2019s all-out bin strike, triggered by a dispute between the city council and Unite the union, has caused a fresh wave of disruption recently, with the local authority blaming striking bin workers at its depots.<\/p>\n
The Labour-run council warned residents multiple times this week that only a small number of its waste lorries could be deployed and that the number of collections it could make would therefore be affected.<\/p>\n
Piled up bin bags in Kitchener Road, Selly Park on Friday, May 23. Credit: Alexander Brock. Permission for use for all LDRS partners.<\/p>\n
The latest turbulence in the ongoing bin strike saga came after West Midlands Police reportedly reduced the number of officers at the depots.<\/p>\n
The force also confirmed the use of powers to keep protesters behind barriers, under Section 14 of the Public Order Act, were \u201cno longer in place\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Piled](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dbebd268-4e0e-42be-bdd1-89beda38bb5a.jpg\")
Piled up bin bags in Kitchener Road, Selly Park on Friday, May 23. Credit: Alexander Brock. Permission for use for all LDRS partners.
<\/p>\n
Weeks after the city council declared a major incident and managed to clear thousands of tonnes of waste, there are now fears the situation could worsen again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of March, a major incident was announced,\u201d Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Roger Harmer said. \u201cHuman-height mounds of black bags became commonplace, the build up of rotting rubbish attracted rats.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a national embarrassment and terrible for the city\u2019s reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/46fea6d7-4ccb-473e-9871-bf466ab0d5b3.jpg\")
Bin bags line the pavement in Pershore Road on May 23. Credit: Alexander Brock. Permission for use for all LDRS partners.<\/p>\n
While Coun Harmer said the strikers had a \u201clegitimate reason\u201d to protest, he went on: \u201cResidents\u2019 health and wellbeing should always be the priority and waste clearance is a vital service that must continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkers who are not striking must be allowed to do their job and keep the city clear of hazardous pile ups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police have powers to stop strikers from obstructing working crews \u2013 they should not wait for the city to reach crisis point again before acting.\u201d<\/p>\n
One area where the bins strike misery continues is Kitchener Road in Selly Park<\/a>, where two heaps of rubbish were blighting the residential street as of Friday afternoon, May 23.<\/p>\n During a previous visit, on April 24, refuse workers arrived and threw bin bags which had piled up into the back of a truck, before clearing the leftover litter.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bin bags will pile up again \u2013 if it was once a week, it wouldn\u2019t be an issue,\u201d one resident told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s got to the stage where we\u2019re used to it now. We\u2019ve just got to wait for it to be cleared and hope [the dispute] gets resolved soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Around a month later and the bin bags have indeed piled up again in Kitchener Road, accompanied by flies and an eye-watering stench.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not pleasant, there\u2019s rats about late at night,\u201d one resident living near the waste said last month.<\/p>\n A second said foxes were rummaging through the piles of rubbish and tearing the bin bags apart.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the main issue is that it just doesn\u2019t look nice \u2013 it makes the area look dirty when it\u2019s not,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous seeing this in Birmingham,\u201d another local added. \u201cIt\u2019s unacceptable \u2013 we shouldn\u2019t be seeing this situation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe council has to find a solution \u2013 they are responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n Around the corner on the busy Pershore Road, wheelie and communal bins filled to the brim with rubbish lined the pavement while bags of rubbish rested against the walls of certain front gardens.<\/p>\n What the council and police have said<\/p>\n Addressing concerns over the picket lines earlier this year, chief constable Craig Guildford told BBC Radio WM: \u201cOur job is to make sure we police<\/a> proportionally, that we are fair, that we tread that middle ground and that we facilitate lawful protest \u2013 and at the same time, people wanting to go to work.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got ample resources to police these things and the commander on the ground will increase or reduce that resource as he or she sees fit.<\/p>\n \u201cWith regard to the police acting now, we\u2019ve acted all the way through.\u201d<\/p>\n