Birmingham bin strikes: Locals earn extra cash with waste collections as rubbish piles up on streets

Tradesfolk are earning extra cash during the by doing private waste collections. They’re stepping up to clear the rat-infested streets of as negotiations to end the walkout rumble on. Among those making a few bob is local Reece Ticer, 29, who is juggling his day job as an electrical engineer with collecting bins.

The dad-of-one charges £3 per black sack and cleared 39 premises last week, including a GP surgery. He told us: “I’m an electrician by trade and have been just generally helping out by being affordable for those who can’t get to the tip.

“There’s definitely enough people wanting their rubbish taken as the rats are becoming a problem. One wheelie bin the other day had two rats in it that had climbed in to eat the food and the woman was petrified, so she wants it collected again when it’s full.

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"A lot of customers have asked me to come every two weeks and some every week. The numbers have been increasing – on my first day I did two collections and I got up to nearly 40 yesterday.”

Birmingham groups are littered with ads for private collections. Man with a van Daniel Dalton wrote: “Send me a message, I can do it for cheap.” Another, Christian J Taylor, added: “Hello we can do it fully licensed drop us a message.”

It comes as private bin collection firm Zero Waste Group - which charges £89 for around 10 bin bags - has seen demand soar by 250% compared with this time last year. And Clearabee, the UK’s largest on-demand bulky waste firm, completed 100% more bin collections in the same period.

Thousands of tonnes of rubbish have built up on the city’s streets over more than four weeks, with Deputy PM saying the situation is “causing misery and disruption to residents.” The industrial action, which began in January and escalated to an all-out walkout last month, has seen hundreds of Birmingham’s refuse workers on strike.

The dispute centres on the loss of a job role that bin workers say is safety-critical.” Union Unite says it would affect about 150 workers and mean a cut of up to £8,000 a year for some and the loss of pay progression for hundreds more.

Birmingham council says the post does not exist at other authorities and disputes both the number of staff affected and the sum of money involved. Councillors have previously said that no worker "need lose a penny."

Ms Rayner, who is also Communities Secretary, said she wanted to see "a fair resolution to this" and added: "I would urge Unite to suspend the action and accept the improved deal." She said the council had "moved significantly to meet the demands of the workers so we can see an end to this dispute."