Massive piles of rubbish have been seen in the city centre reaching higher than six feet tall as the bin strike continues.
Pictures of the overflowing bins were taken from the city centre, around Edinburgh’s historic Old Town and from the top of Middle Meadow Walk. The images show piles of rubbish stacked next to the overflowing bins, some of them as high as six feet.
Discarded wrappers, cardboard boxes and black bin bags form a mountain of discarded waste, with some of the bins taped up to stop people from trying to fill them further. A huge pile of rubbish can also be seen outside the Grassmarket Hotel, with bin bags climbing out the top of full dumpsters taller than six feet.
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This comes as the refuse worker strike continues into its seventh day of the planned 11 day industrial action. Picket lines were formed outside recycling and waste centres on August 18 after unions rejected the 3.5 per cent pay offer from COSLA.
The strike coincides with the Festival Fringe this year, which has returned to its full size after the Coronavirus pandemic. The influx of tourists to the capital for the theatre festival is putting further strain on the refuse infrastructure.
Edinburgh City Council have insisted that there is a recovery plan in place once the strike has been resolved.
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “I fully appreciate the impact this action will have on our city and we’re asking residents to be patient and work with us to help manage the inevitable impacts by planning ahead and following our advice.
“We’ve published tips on what to do with their waste and recycling and how they can help us to keep the city as clean as possible during and after the strike.
“We’re also reaching out to our tenants and housing associations, businesses, festivals and other partners asking them to share our messaging and provide whatever support they can during this busy and important time for our Capital city.
“We’re developing a detailed recovery plan so clean ups can begin and services can resume as quickly as possible after the strike.”
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