We have seen and heard many calls from “greens” recently to re-wild Britain, but in Brighton, the Green Party-led Council seems to be taking it to a whole new level.
The Council is in dispute with Cityclean workers and their trade union, the GMB. The result, as the headline to a Guardian article* tells us is:
Garbage fills the streets as Brighton refuse strike continues
Brighton and Hove residents worry about rats and foxes as more refuse and recycling walkouts planned
The strike by refuse lorry drivers (that’s “refuse” as in rubbish, not as in decline to do something) has already lasted a week and could go on until mid-November, according to the Guardian report. We are told that the dispute is about pay and conditions and about removing drivers from long-standing bin rounds. The council admits it will take weeks to clear the backlog of rubbish once the dispute is settled, whenever that may be. All household and communal bin waste and recycling services are affected, as well as garden and trade waste services.
Some residents at least aren’t happy – understandably:
“It’s obviously going to attract foxes and rats and gulls. We have loads of gulls here, and they are pecking the bags open,” said Marie De Vere, picking her way through a passageway in the shoulder-high piles of bags covering the pavement in one road in the Seven Dials area of the city.
“It is really dreadful,” she added, surveying the overflowing communal bins outside the genteel Victorian terrace of Montpelier Crescent, now home to one of largest rubbish mounds in Brighton and Hove.
The good news is that the Council has lots of positive green ideas for residents to deal with the issues arising from the dispute:
In the meantime, the council is advising residents to break up and flatten boxes and cartons and store waste in their homes, or take it to the tip themselves in their cars.
And:
People are asked to double or triple bag any rubbish they leave in the street, with those using communal bins requested to store their refuse at home if possible…
So there you have it, coming to an area near you (if you’re stupid enough to vote Greens into power) – lots of single-use plastic, store your rubbish in your home for an indefinite period, and use your car, and try not to run over the rats while you’re at it.
The re-wilding of Brighton continues. Chris Packham, eat your heart out.
Climate Scepticism 
Why are the gulls pecking through the bin bags? Surely the food recycling all goes in the food recycling bins, not in the general rubbish. Or is Brighton’s population not as green as the council?
Bin men going on strike is actually a smart ploy. At the end of it, the council will have to give them overtime to remove the backlog, so they will have lost no wages.
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So not sorry that I left the Green Party. One is reminded of Labour’s “Winter of discontent”. I think Labour were blamed unfairly in that case (taking the bigger picture into account), but in Brighton, the situation seems to be clearer, and caused by incompetence on the council’s part, or the unions out-smarting them, or both. Either way, I doubt if the voters will forgive them.
I wonder what Caroline Lucas is saying about it?
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Mike Ellwood, I once thought about joining the Green Party, back when they seemed to care about the environment, but that was a long time ago. No chance of me joining them as things stand.
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thought this was’nt a new problem, from 2019 – https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2019/10/04/perfect-storm-of-rubbish-problems-sees-waste-pile-up-across-city/
ps – @ stew – you mean I can finally “like” comments ? gave up trying to do that age’s ago cause it never worked !!!
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“In the meantime, the council is advising residents to ….. take it to the tip themselves in their cars.”
But Greens discourage folk from owning a car.
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Joe Public, yes indeed, that was rather my point – along with them suggesting triple bagging (no doubt in plastic bags) of all that rubbish. Greens – delivering non-Green chaos, if they ever get their hands on a whiff of power.
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The BBC is catching up with this story:
“Brighton bin strike: Private firms tackle waste piles as talks go on”
“Private firms have been called in to remove piles of rubbish built up during Brighton’s ongoing bin strike.
Mountains of waste have accumulated around the city for almost two weeks amid attempts to end the dispute.
Brighton & Hove City Council said it had only called in third parties as blocked pavements and vermin became a “growing and serious” health issue.
It is hoped crunch talks on Sunday will bring an immediate suspension of strike action.
The council said it called in private companies in response to safety concerns caused by the mounting rubbish.
It said fires had been started in some communal bins over recent days, and pedestrians were increasingly at risk as more waste was dumped on pavements.”
There are some awful photos within the BBC article, and it all sounds pretty grim.
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Oops, I forgot the link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-58945961
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