Birmingham is in the grip of a worsening waste collection crisis, with a reported 17,000 tonnes of rubbish piling up as bin workers continue strike action that began in January 2025.
What’s the Dispute About?
Birmingham city council in effect declared bankruptcy in 2023, largely due to an equal-pay bill.
The dispute is over council plans to scrap the higher-paid waste recycling and collection officer (WRCO) role. Scrapping the role seems to be an attempt to manage the council’s financial risks after the significant equal-pay liabilities that emerged.
So, the strike centres on Birmingham City Council’s decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles.
- Unite the Union says affected staff could lose up to £8,000 a year.
- The council disputes this, saying only a handful of workers would lose a maximum of just over £6,000, with six months’ pay protection offered.
What’s the Impact?
- Rubbish is piling up across the city.
- Rats and sanitation concerns are growing.
- The council has declared a major incident.
- West Midlands Fire Service has issued safety warnings.
Current Waste Measures being reported in media outlets
- According to reports, 5 Household recycling centres and 2 mobile Household recycling centres involved (potentially only 2 operating).
- 90 vehicles are active daily (compared to the usual 200), handling fewer collections.
- Picket lines have slowed depot operations, although this does seem to be more managed as police are involved
When Will It End?
There’s no confirmed end date, and talks are ongoing. With no breakthrough yet, the strike could continue into summer 2025.
Understanding the background and history of waste /rubbish collection
Bin Men Strikes in the UK (1970s–1980s): understanding Key Events in the Past. Giving perspective to the Binmen striking in Birmingham.
1. Background: During the 1970s and into the 1980s, refuse collectors (commonly known as bin men or dustmen) across the UK engaged in a series of strikes. These actions were primarily driven by demands for better pay and improved working conditions, reflecting broader unrest in the public sector at the time.
2. Notable Strikes and Events:
- 1969 Hackney Strike:
- Dustmen in Hackney, London, went on strike for higher basic wages.
- The strike caused refuse to pile up in the streets, prompting some residents to attempt burning their own waste.
- 1970 London Strike:
- One of the most significant events, lasting about seven weeks.
- Bin men demanded a 55% pay increase.
- The accumulation of uncollected waste became a major public health concern.
- The military was deployed to assist in waste clearance.
- Glasgow Cleansing Workers Strikes:
- Mirrored the unrest seen in London, with similar demands for fair wages and better working conditions.
- Emphasised the widespread dissatisfaction among public sector workers.
3. Wider Context:
- Impact on Public Services:
- The strikes disrupted basic sanitation services, leading to unsanitary conditions, potential disease outbreaks, and public frustration.
- Government Response:
- Authorities occasionally called in troops to perform basic refuse collection duties to maintain public order and hygiene.
- “Winter of Discontent” (1978–79):
- The refuse workers’ strikes were part of broader industrial unrest.
- The term describes a period marked by widespread strikes by various public sector workers, driven by inflation, stagnant wages, and austerity measures.
4. Long-Term Outcomes:
- These strikes contributed to public debates on union power, the role of the state in essential services, and eventually informed policies under the Thatcher government, which sought to reduce union influence and privatise some public services.
A Brief History to show how we started to care for our waste.
It’s hard to imagine life without regular bin collections, but organised waste disposal is a fairly recent development—less than a few hundred years old. So, what happened before we started having our rubbish collected?
Ancient Beginnings
Waste management dates back thousands of years. As early as 6500 BC, ancient Syria had basic wastewater systems. By 3000 BC, people in Knossos, Crete, used earth-covered pits as landfills. In Classical Athens, laws required waste to be dumped a mile outside city limits. Meanwhile, the Mayans had monthly communal burnings of trash—an early form of incineration.
Medieval to Early Modern Times
In Britain, it wasn’t until 1297 that laws required people to keep their streets clean in front of their houses. It was, however, a result of the Black Death in 1384, which killed nearly 50% of the population.
The disease was spread because of the abundance of Black Rats and fleas that feasted on the rubbish strewn in the streets. A lesson was learned and by 1354 “Muckrakers” or “Rakers” were employed to cart the waste away from the city. (I like to think that this was England’s first rubbish collection service.)
It would appear that the real shift in collecting rubbish came in the late 1700s during the Industrial Revolution, with ‘dust-yards’ recycling coal ash and other materials. Rag-and-bone men also collected items to resell or reuse.
The Rise of Modern Systems
Around the mid-18th century, London was grappling with rapid urban growth and increasing public health concerns due to poor sanitation and waste management. As part of the efforts to address these issues, there was a push to make local parishes and authorities more accountable for maintaining cleanliness in their areas.
One of the proposed solutions was to transport the city’s waste—particularly human and household waste—by barge along the River Thames to be disposed of at a “proper distance” from the city. This idea was part of a broader recognition that unregulated dumping of waste in the streets and the river was contributing to disease outbreaks, including cholera.
This movement helped lay the groundwork for more organised and centralised systems of public sanitation in the 19th century.
Reformers like Edwin Chadwick (architect of the 1834 Poor Law) pushed for organised waste removal. His ideas helped shape the 1848 Public Health Act. By 1875, households were told to use ‘moveable receptacles’—the first modern dustbins!!
Around the same time, incinerators (or “destructors”) appeared in major towns, though they faced backlash due to air pollution. (still being argued about)
Towards Sustainability
The 1956 Clean Air Act, introduced because of smog, reduced home burning, increasing landfill use. During the 1990 and beyond, environmental awareness sparked new strategies. The UK’s Making Waste Work plan in 1996 aimed for 25% household recycling by 2000. Today, recycling is widespread, with many everyday products made from reused materials.