Shocking pictures of bins piled high with rubbish in Edinburgh’s historic Grassmarket have emerged as the refuse worker strike continues.
The pictures, from the centre of the capital, show large, commercial bins filled with rubbish as bags of refuse are piled high around them. Further down the Grassmarket, more bins lie full of refuse as rubbish spills over the lids and onto the streets.
As the strike continues, the capital’s centre is being left with rubbish strewn across the street, with Lothian Road and Princes Street on Saturday pictured with abandoned wrappers lining the roads. The strikes come as the Festival Fringe brings huge amounts of tourists to the city, putting increased strain on the refuse infrastructure in the city.
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Bins across the capital are full to bursting as the strikes continue into their fourth day. Unions rejected the formal 3.5 per cent pay increase proposed by COSLA and the industrial action is set to continue for 11 days, until Sunday, August 28.
Picket lines were formed on Thursday in front of closed recycling and waste centres across the city and a demonstration, organised by unions Unite and GMB, was held in front of the city chambers. Union organiser say that the cost of living crisis, rapidly rising inflation and growing fuel prices are putting pressure on workers, leaving some forced to choose “between heating and eating.”
The council have advised the public to store their rubbish at home while the industrial action is ongoing. Council leader, Cammy Day, insists that the council is developing a recovery plan so the city can return to normal as quickly as possible following the strike.
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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