Edinburgh residents are told to keep their rubbish inside and ‘double bag dog mess to reduce smells’ as bins overflow in the street while refuse workers continue 12-day strike

  • Around 250 members of Unite and GMB unions walked out on Thursday after rejecting 3.5 per cent pay rise
  • Comedians at Edinburgh Festival Fringe slated the situation and performers attempted to tidy the streets
  • It will be eight days before strike action taken by waste staff in Edinburgh ends next Tuesday on August 30
  • Council has urged residents to keep rubbish inside their homes and double bag dog mess to reduce smells

Edinburgh residents are being urged to keep rubbish inside their homes as waste piles high across the city, with refuse collectors continuing their 12-day strike in a bitter row over pay.

Around 250 members of the Unite and GMB unions who work for the city council walked out on Thursday after rejecting a 3.5 per cent pay offer from local government umbrella body Cosla, as comedians performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe slated the situation.

It will be another eight days before strike action taken by waste staff in Edinburgh ends on August 30, but the problems are already growing, with the city suspending waste collections, closing its recycling centres and advising residents to store their rubbish at home.

Wrappers and takeaway containers are piling up in the streets as part of the protest over pay at a time when the city is full of tourists because of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe held every August.

It remains unclear if the revised pay proposal – an increase on Cosla’s second offer of 3.5 per cent – will be enough to stop ongoing and future industrial action, but union leaders have said they will ‘urgently consider’ it and are meeting with Cosla officials tomorrow morning.

And tomorrow strikes are set to begin in 14 other council areas after union chiefs said the offer of a 5 per cent pay rise ‘doesn’t cut it’.

Edinburgh Festival performers and local residents have resorted to makeshift attempts to tidy the streets, while businesses fear that the unsightly scenes could damage the city’s reputation. 

But amid scenes of overflowing bins and litter-strewn pavements, council chiefs issued guidance to residents which urged them: ‘Store your waste at home, or in your back green or garden if possible. If street bins are full, take dog mess home and double-bag to reduce smells.’

Edinburgh residents are being urged to keep rubbish inside their homes as waste piles high across the city, with refuse collectors continuing their 12-day strike in a bitter row over pay

But amid scenes of overflowing bins and litter-strewn pavements (pictured), council chiefs issued guidance to residents which urged them: ‘Store your waste at home, or in your back green or garden if possible. If street bins are full, take dog mess home and double-bag to reduce smells’

Wrappers and takeaway containers are piling up in the streets as part of the protest over pay at a time when the city is full of tourists because of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe held every August

Around 250 members of the Unite and GMB unions who work for the city council walked out on Thursday after rejecting a 3.5 per cent pay offer from local government umbrella body Cosla

A strike by council staff has been described as leaving ‘mountains of filth piling up’ in the Scottish capital during its annual comedy festival

It also said that there would be no collections during the period of action and waste and recycling centres would remain closed.

Tory social justice, housing and local government spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘This strike tarnishes the capital’s image at the time the eyes of the world are on it, is a huge hazard for businesses and increases the health risk to residents.

‘The last thing they need is the possibility of pests and rodents ending up inside their property. Yet the SNP Government’s response to this crisis is to ask residents to keep their rubbish in their houses, rather than attempt to solve this dispute, which is ultimately their responsibility.

Bin lorry drivers redeployed to drive school buses

Bin lorry drivers have been redeployed to drive school buses amid a shortage ahead of the new term.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) failed to find bus drivers for more than 40 primary and secondary school routes in North Lanarkshire in time for the start of term last week.

The staff shake-up means blue bin collections will halt for three weeks. Council bosses announced on Sunday that drivers who currently transport additional support needs (ASN) children will drive a recently procured fleet of ten coaches. 

Blue bin lorry drivers will be redeployed by the local authority to drive ASN pupils. The recycling collections will be suspended until September 12.

The council has asked residents to dispose of paper and card in their general waste bins or take it to a recycling centre.

A spokesman said yesterday: ‘The numbers of pupils affected has reduced and we are working with SPT to secure remaining routes.

‘The redeployment of some of our drivers means we have taken the decision to suspend our household blue bin service, which collects paper and cardboard.’

‘The SNP’s savage cuts to local authority budgets lie at the heart of this dispute. Rubbish is already overflowing in our communities.

‘Ministers need to get a grip and ensure a positive solution is reached before we have a full-blown health hazard.’

Mary Nisbet, 85, from the Morningside area of Edinburgh, told the BBC: ‘I think it’s a disgrace that we are being told to keep our rubbish. I live in a small flat. It’s going to get very smelly and it’s unhygienic.

‘It could also attract vermin into our houses as well as flies and bluebottles.’

Bow Bar, a pub on Victoria Street – one of the most photographed in the capital thanks to its colourful, curving buildings – posted a photograph showing waste spewing from out of a bin outside its doors and surrounded by bin bags.

The bar added: ‘Edinburgh is an embarrassment at the moment due to this bin strike.’

Edinburgh’s Labour council leader Cammy Day said: ‘These grim scenes are a damning symbol of the neglect local government has faced at the hands of the SNP.

‘Edinburgh Council gets the lowest funding per head of anywhere in Scotland and local services are stretched to breaking point.’

But Edinburgh conservation charity the Cockburn Association’s director Terry Levinthal said: ‘People who live in the city have to manage their waste appropriately. ‘Don’t put it out – there is no sense in putting it on the street.

‘There is waste you can store – inert waste like cardboard. You can find a corner in your house or flat to keep it.’

Yesterday street performers and festival staff resorted to litter picking to do their bit. But Mr Levinthal said piles of rubbish were growing higher and added: ‘Businesses that have commercial collection facilities can actually maybe step up, because it is in their interests to present the city in the best way possible.’

The Scottish Government increased local authority umbrella group Cosla’s budget by £140million in an attempt to allow chiefs to make an improved offer.

A deal was tabled on Friday but Unite said the sense from picket lines in Edinburgh suggests a 5 per cent pay offer ‘doesn’t cut it’, with inflation in double digits and being forecast to rise to over 18 per cent.

Union officer Alison Maclean said: ‘There remains insignificant detail. Unite can’t take anything to our wider membership unless we have specifics and guarantees.’

The industrial action will take place from tomorrow until August 31 in Aberdeen, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inver-clyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian.

It remains unclear if the revised pay proposal – an increase on Cosla’s second offer of 3.5 per cent – will be enough to stop ongoing and future industrial action, which has so far led to litter strewn across the streets of Edinburgh

Scottish Conservative local government spokesman Miles Briggs said there had been an ‘astounding’ lack of contingency planning ahead of the strike. As a result, the action has resulted in bins overflowing onto pavements across the capital

Wrappers and takeaway containers are piling up in the streets at a time when the city is full of tourists

Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘I’m glad to see that Cosla has now put on the table a 5 per cent pay offer and I hope that now paves the way to these issues being resolved.’

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has called for an emergency budget. He said: ‘The Scottish Government must fund local authorities so that they can afford to give workers a proper pay rise.’

Meanwhile, thousands of workers in schools, nurseries and universities are also poised to take action.

Unison Scotland members at Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Robert Gordon and Glasgow Caledonian universities have voted for industrial action.

Unison’s Lorcan Mullen said: ‘University bosses should know their lowest-paid staff are demanding more money and respect, now.’

People in Scotland’s capital are having to endure litter-strewn streets and overflowing bins – with the mess set to get even worse

It will be another nine days before strike action taken by waste staff in Edinburgh ends, but the problems are already growing

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