San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Health warning for garbage strike

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Stinking piles of garbage on the streets of Edinburgh are threatenin­g the health and safety of the public, a health authority warned Saturday as strikes by garbage collectors in the Scottish capital moved into their ninth day.

The warning from Public Health Scotland came as garbage collectors in Newham, a borough of London, also walked out for a week over a pay dispute.

Images of food waste and diapers rotting on the streets is just adding to scenes of chaos in U.K. as industrial disputes multiply amid soaring food and energy costs.

Public Health Scotland told local authoritie­s that the “decontamin­ation of public areas where bins have overflowed may be required.” It warned that “if organic waste builds up, it can become a risk to human health.”

Garbage collectors walked out on Aug. 18 and plan to stay off work until Aug. 30. Even more strikes lay ahead if the pay dispute is not resolved.

Britain is facing a major cost-of-living crisis, with wage increases failing to keep up with inflation, which last week stood at 10.1%. Those financial challenges have only been increased due to soaring energy costs — authoritie­s say residents in Britain will see an 80% increase in their annual energy bills in October.

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