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A LOT HAD CHANGED SINCE MY LAST VISIT IN APRIL 04:27, 01 Jun 2025 Senior reporter covering breaking news and communities in the UK's second city. Joined BirminghamLive/Mail in 2021 as a

patch reporter focused on stories in Lozells/Handsworth after three years at a local paper in Worcestershire. Moved primarily to live news in 2022 and had a brief stint as a LDR reporter

covering Birmingham and Sandwell councils in 2023. Got a story? Contact: [email protected] I was stuck in traffic, shortly after 7am, when one of Birmingham City Council's bin

lorries drove past on the opposite side of the carriageway. It was followed quickly by a second, and then a third, all within the space of three minutes. Seeing the dustcarts out on the

roads was an early sign that (at least some) Brummies stood a good chance of having their bins collected on this fine Friday morning. READ MORE: I SPENT HOURS ON A BIRMINGHAM BIN STRIKE

PICKET LINE - THIS IS WHAT IT WAS LIKE I arrived at my destination - the council's bin depot in Kings Road, Tyseley - a few minutes later. It was pretty much as I'd expected:

quiet, with only a few striking binmen standing outside the facility as unobstructed lorries left the site on time. Article continues below We're so conditioned to the chaos by now,

we've seen it so many times before, but on this occasion, no-one was even attempting to block or slow the trucks down. That certainly had a lot to do with it being the morning after

pickets were banned 'indefinitely' from blocking lorries at the council's three depots following a High Court ruling. The court order was imposed earlier this week following a

successful bid from the council. As part of the injunction, pickets can no longer gather in groups of more than six at the depots. They must also wear hi-vis jackets so that there's no

confusion over who they are - and they can only stand in designated areas. Seeing only five binmen standing outside the gates on Friday (May 30) was a stark contrast to when I visited the

same depot in April - 14 hours after the city council had declared an emergency. On that day, more than 50 workers on the picket line took turns to block and walk slowly in front of bin

lorries - causing major disruption to rubbish collections in the city. They chatted and joked amongst themselves, holding onto their freshly brewed coffees tightly in a bid to keep warm, as

they patiently waited for bacon to crisp on a grill while R.Kelly's Ignition boomed out of a speaker. None of that this time. Just a few guys having a chat; lorries leaving the site

seamlessly, without a fuss. Not even a single rasher on the BBQ. Two police cars were parked outside the gates with a few officers inside. But they had left by 7.35am, probably realising,

like me, that there wasn't really much to see. We also swung by the council's other two depots, in Holford Drive and Lifford Lane, but both were completely deserted. Not a soul. No

sign of the mass disruption and big turnouts that had previously caused rubbish to pile up across the city. Article continues below Is it possible this is a major breakthrough for the

all-out bin strike which began on March 11, and is now in its eleventh week? Really, only time will tell.