Birmingham residents warned of ‘bin raider’ scammers targeting people’s rubbish as strike enters fifth week

9 April 2025, 16:29 | Updated: 9 April 2025, 16:48

Birmingham residents have been warned they could have their identities and bank cards stolen by so-called “bin raiders” as rubbish continues to fill the city’s streets.

Members of Unite launched an all-out strike last month over pay and jobs, which has led to tonnes of black bin bags not being collected across England’s second city.

Now, as the strike enters its fifth week and mountains of rubbish continue to pile up, residents have been warned they could fall victim to “bin raiders” who steal important documents that may have been thrown away.

Experts at BusinessWaste.co.uk have warned “bin raiders” could take advantage of the chaos in the city to steal valuables and important documents such as identification and bank cards.

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Tom Swarbrick investigates Birmingham's bin strike

These old documents often allow thieves to carry out financial and identity scams.

Mark Hall, Birmingham waste management expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, said: “The bin strikes are not only causing an environmental hazard to residents, but could also present the risk of financial harm.

"Bin raiding is a common practice, and while many who do it are looking for unwanted valuable items to take, others are criminals hoping to find personal documents.

“Birmingham council has revealed they believe there are 17,000 tonnes of waste on the streets, meaning there’s ample opportunity for fraudsters.

"Shredding personal mail and other items containing your details is something we’d recommend as standard anyway, but it’s now vital for Birmingham residents given the ongoing situation.”

Earlier this week, the Health Secretary warned Birmingham could soon become a hot-bed of disease with the strike leaving bin bags “piling up” and rats “crawling around”.

“I certainly am concerned about the public health situation and the poor conditions we’re seeing for people in Birmingham,” the Health Secretary told Times Radio.

“As the bin bags are piling up, we see rats and other vermin crawling around.

“That’s not good for public health. I think this dispute has escalated way out of hand.”

He said it is “totally unacceptable” that the dispute has seen bin lorries blocked from leaving the depot.

“I understand industrial disputes happen. I understand people have the right to withdraw their labour. That’s part and parcel of industrial relations in our country.

“But what is not acceptable is allowing these sorts of unsanitary conditions to occur on people’s streets.

“I’m urging Unite to do the right thing, stop blocking the bin lorries, and allow people to get out there and clean the streets for the people of Birmingham who suffered for far too long.”

The city council declared a major incident on Monday March 31 because of the impact and talks between local government and Unite are continuing in an effort to break the deadlock.

Talks continued this week, but still a settlement seems far from being reached.

Following the latest round of talks on Tuesday, a Birmingham City Council spokesperson, said: “The talks with Unite were productive, but there are still a number of issues to resolve. We are looking forward to continuing with negotiations.”