Requests for help to deal with rats have significantly fallen since the introduction of wheelie bins in Birmingham, according to new figures published today. Comparing city council data for the year immediately before and after the roll-out of bins, the figures for the city (based on the areas served by the council’s four refuse collection depots) show these have fallen between 20 and 30 per cent.

Montague St (Ladywood District)

Year before wheelie bins: 149.83 requests per month average

Year after: 120.08 requests per month average

Change: 20 per cent decrease

Lifford Lane (Edgbaston, Northfield and Selly Oak Districts)*

Year before wheelie bins: 330.83 requests per month average

Year after: 258.77 requests per month average

Change: 22 per cent decrease

Redfern Road (Hall Green, Hodge Hill and Yardley Districts)

Year before wheelie bins: 521.5 requests per month average

Year after: 363.33 requests per month average

Change: 30 per cent decrease

Perry Barr (Erdington, Perry Barr and Sutton Coldfield Districts)

Year before wheelie bins: 323.33 requests per month average

Year after: 234.5 requests per month average

Change: 28 per cent decrease

Cllr Lisa Trickett, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment, said: “One of the key advantages of using wheelie bins instead of sacks and small recycling boxes is the reduced risk of spillage of waste onto the street.

“This significantly reduces the source of food available to pests and means citizens can enjoy cleaner, greener streets in the process.

“It is really pleasing that our figures show a direct link between the decision to introduce bins and a fall in requests for assistants with rodents.”

The council remains fully committed to a service improvement plan to use technology to provide a smarter, more effective and increasingly reliable service for citizens – with an aim to send no waste to landfill by 2035.

At the heart of the plan is the use of in-cab IT by collection crews, enabling depots to better monitor services and respond to any issues as they arise and the development of a new Waste Strategy for Birmingham.