Birmingham residents managing uncollected recycling

Raymond McDonnell said he was making multiple trips to mobile recycling centres

As the anniversary of the Birmingham bin strike looms, residents' recycling is still yet to be collected, with mountains of rubbish sat on pavements and street corners, leaving some locals hopeless.

Hundreds of members of Unite in Birmingham have been on all-out strike for eight months in a row over pay and jobs. And in September, non-agency staff members voted to extend the strike until March 2026.

So, how are residents coping with their uncollected rubbish?

"I take mine and all my neighbours rubbish in Spark Hill regularly because we're getting rats in the house," resident Mohammed Razak told BBC Radio WM.

"I've got little grandchildren, toddlers in the house, and rats are ripping the uncollected bags open," he added.

Mr Razak said it wasn't just the recycling that was not being collected.

The amount of rubbish being sent to landfill by Birmingham City Council has doubled

"Only half of our street are getting the weekly general waste service, they do part of the road and then disappear.

"Everywhere you go, every road you go, there are black bags and rats are ripping them up everywhere.

"It's causing a health problem for everybody," he said.

Unite claims a growing number of agency staff are refusing to cross the picket lines of the striking workers because they are facing "unsustainable workloads" amid a "bullying" workplace culture at the council.

The authority previously denied the allegations and said it did not "condone any actions which are contrary to legislation and good employment practice".

Since kerbside recycling stopped, Raymond McDonnell has been making multiple trips to try get rid of his rubbish at depots.

"My neighbours can't manage it so I bring theirs down and I'll come down later to bring more stuff, but what else are people supposed to do? I can see how it slips in with the general waste now and again because people want to get rid of it."

The amount of rubbish being sent to landfill by Birmingham City Council has doubled since bin strikes began, figures revealed in September.

About 2.84% of rubbish was sent to landfill from 1 January to 30 June 2024, but rose during the same time this year to 5.8%.

Over the same period, recycling rates fell from an already poor 22% to 13%.

In a previous statement, the city council said it had extended opening hours at household recycling and mobile waste centres, in order to help residents recycle as much as possible.

Mr McDonnell fears his efforts won't be enough as Christmas approaches.

"The waste is only going to get worse with cardboard boxes left on the street as we go into Christmas.

"The kids will be happy but the rats will be happier. There's so many people with [uncollected] recycling it's ridiculous," he added.