Rubbish piles in Scotland raise health concerns amid strikes

Andrew Milligan/AP Waste workers from the City of Edinburgh Council are on strike in Scotland, having rejected a formal pay offer of 3.5% from the council.

Stinking piles of rubbish on the streets of Edinburgh are threatening the health and safety of the public, a health authority warned as strikes by garbage collectors in the Scottish capital moved into their ninth day.

The warning from Public Health Scotland came as rubbish collectors in Newham, a borough of London, also walked out for a week over a pay dispute.

Images of food waste and nappies rotting on the streets is just adding to scenes of chaos in the UK as industrial disputes multiply amid soaring food and energy costs. Bathers in the UK were warned last week to stay away from dozens of beaches as heavy rain flushed raw sewage into rivers and seas.

Public Health Scotland told local authorities that the “decontamination of public areas where bins have overflowed may be required.” It warned that “if organic waste builds up, it can become a risk to human health.”

Rubbish collectors walked out on August 18 and plan to stay off work until August 30. Even more strikes lay ahead if the pay dispute is not resolved.

Andrew Milligan/AP Overflowing bins in the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh. Workers at waste and recycling depots across the Scottish city have rejected a pay offer.

Britain is facing a massive cost-of-living crisis, with wage increases failing to keep up with inflation, which last week stood at 10.1%.

Those financial challenges have only been increased due to soaring energy costs – authorities say residents in Britain will see an 80% increase in their annual energy bills in October.

The country has seen waves of strikes this summer, with the public transport system grinding to a virtual halt on several days due to rail strikes. Primary schools and nurseries in Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, will be forced to close for several days next month if a strike from council workers goes ahead.

Joe Giddens/AP

The Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk, England. Almost 2000 workers at the UK’s biggest container port are on an eight-day strike over a pay dispute.

In London, rubbish truck drivers in Newham Council began a week of walkouts on Saturday, with union officials warning there could be more. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said those workers were paid less than others in neighbouring councils.

“The council must now focus on reaching a deal with the workers, who face a financial crisis,” Graham said. “If they don’t, then the coming days will undoubtedly mean more industrial action.”

Joe Giddens/AP

Members of the Unite union form a picket line at one of the entrances to the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk, after backing industrial action by 9-1 in a dispute over pay.

Britain’s image has taken a battering this summer.

French politicians in the European Parliament complained this week that the raw sewage flushed into rivers and seas by the UK also threatens bathing waters, fishing grounds and biodiversity in the European Union as well.

Parts of Britain’s sewage system became overwhelmed after several days of unseasonably heavy rainfall.

AP