00:00Six months in and Birmingham is still living with the fallout of its bin strike.
00:06Streets from Bordesley Green to Selly Oak are marked by waste stacked on corners,
00:11broken glass in parks and rodents in plain sight.
00:14What began as a dispute between the council and Unite has spiralled into a crisis of public health and public trust.
00:22Residents describe dead rats on pavements, children keeping windows shut against swarms of flies
00:29and neighbours burning rubbish just to clear space.
00:32It's not isolated to one ward, from student suburbs to tower blocks in Ladywood.
00:38Compliance are the same, missed collections, overflowing bins and no clear end in sight.
00:44The numbers underline it. In the first half of this year, Birmingham sent nearly 14,000 tonnes of rubbish to landfill.
00:52Recycling has collapsed from already poor levels to just 13%.
00:55That failure carries a cost, £1.7 million in landfill tax.
01:00Money a cash-strapped council can ill afford, with more mounting every week.
01:06Unite has vowed to keep the strike going until next spring.
01:09Councils across parties call the situation intolerable.
01:13They warn the city's reputation, finances and basic services are being trashed along with its streets.
01:20City leaders cite a transformation plan is whiting, fortnightly collections, new recycling bins, weekly food waste rounds and a fleet of 151 vehicles ready to go.
01:32But until industrial action ends, the overhaul is on hold and residents are left in limbo.
01:37For now, the city faces another season of rubbish, piling up faster than the promises to clear it.
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