Business owners fear a looming bin strike could transform Edinburgh into an “ugly mess” plagued by rats and turn tourists away during the Fringe Festival in August.
Unions representing refuse workers say a repeat of 2022’s bin strike in the city – which saw mountains of rubbish and an increase in rats running around the streets – is likely to go ahead next month.
Pest controllers told i they expect a return of the vermin epidemic seen when refuse workers took industrial action over low pay during the festival two years ago.
The 12-day bin strike during August 2022 saw some Edinburgh residents store rubbish in their baths. Others reported seeing seagulls divebomb to feed on the rats crawling over the bins.
Nikk Stevens, a manager at the Cold Town House bar and restaurant in Edinburgh’s popular Grassmarket area, said the experience of two years ago was “horrific”.
Dreading a possible repeat, the bar manager told i: “I’m worried it will be rats left, right and centre again. It will be grim for the hospitality sector, because who is going to want to sit outside for a meal?”
Mr Stevens warned that some repulsed tourists might be put off from making future trips to Scotland’s capital.
“It’s going to look and smell disgusting,” he said. “Some international tourists might think it’s what we normally do here. It’s not exactly showcasing the city at its best.
“Some might see photos of Edinburgh – and see the old town turned into what is effectively a giant skip – and decide they don’t want to come here.”
John McKee, owner of Hanover Healthfoods, just off the busy shopping area of Princes Street, said businesses would be at least able to rely on private contractors to take their own rubbish away.
But he is still worried that huge piles of uncollected waste strewn around public bins will drive regular customers away, even as huge crowds of visitors continue to turn up for the festival.
“It’s a very disruptive to have such an ugly mess,” said Mr McKee. “I’m worried about the visual impact, the smell and the rats. That was all pretty appalling last time.”
“Lots of businesses are still recovering from Covid,” he added. “So it’s not good for the image of the city when so many tourists are here. Some who are flexible might decide to go down to London instead.”
Marina Crolla, co-owner of La Locanda restaurant near the Royal Mile, said she was anxious about the impact on trade. “It causes chaos – the vermin and the smell,” she told i.
But the Italian restaurant owner is sympathetic to refuse workers’ demands for better pay.
“It’s ridiculous in these times, in 2024, that people still have to strike for more pay. If everything is going up in price so should earnings. Simple.”
It is not only Edinburgh that will be affected should industrial action go ahead.
Earlier this month, the Unite union’s waste and recycling workers voted to strike in 16 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, while GMB members backed action in 13 areas.
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), which negotiates on behalf of councils, offered a 2.2 per cent increase from April 2025, with a further 2 per cent from next October.
Union chiefs, having rejected the offer, will meet with Cosla for last-ditch talks this Friday, i understands.
But with Cosla refusing to ask the Scottish Government for the extra money to make an improved offer, unions are threatening strike action to coincide with the festival for maximum impact.
Brian Robertson, Unite’s Edinburgh secretary, said most waste and recycling loaders in the city were on £22,000 to £23,000, while drivers on £27,000 to £28,000.
“The pay offer is just not good enough,” he told i. “These are public health practitioners. They prevent disease and vermin. So it’s about time we recognised the valuable work they do.”
“It’s regrettable that we’re forced into this position,” he added on potential strike ahead. “We don’t want all this disgusting waste around our towns and cities.”
Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland’s senior organiser for public services, said the bin strike was “still totally avoidable”.
“But if there isn’t a fair offer then the rubbish will pile up again,” he added. “If it’s disruptive then that will be on local government leaders who aren’t doing enough to make sure fair pay is on the table.”
The strike of 2022, which only ended after a 10 per cent pay increase was agreed, saw Edinburgh council ask residents to store their own rubbish inside.
Some stored bags in the bath so leaks were easy to clean, while others hired their own skips as a temporary solution.
Vikki Cavanagh, director of Tae a Moose Pest Control, told i that the increase in rats in the centre of Edinburgh spread across residential areas in the aftermath of the 2022 bin strike.
“It was about four to six weeks later we saw an increase in rats, right across in Edinburgh, that went on for quite a few months,” she said. “They feed on the extra food and populate. So pest controllers would expect to be busy.”
A Cosla spokesperson said the body had “made a strong offer at the limits of affordability for councils”, adding: “We urge our unions to reconsider their decision to reject the offer.”
Edinburgh City Council leader Cammy Day said he would “strongly urge” the Scottish Government and Cosla to work with the unions to avert a repeat of 2022’s huge disruption.
He added: “We’ll be developing detailed contingency plans ahead of any potential strike action to minimise disruption to council services should it go ahead.”
Garry Clarke, development manager at the Federation of Small Businesses, also urged the two sides to hammer out a deal. He said waste mountains would be “bad for the festivals, bad for the city’s international reputation … and bad for business”.