For over a month, refuse workers in Birmingham have been taking part in an all-out strike, meaning bin collection services have reduced substantially, leaving rubbish to pile up in neighbourhoods across the city.
As well as being unsightly, locals also talk about a significant rodent problem in Birmingham and a worsening smell as the weather improves.
Some areas are more affected than others.
In Bordesley Green, just a few kilometres east of the city centre, huge piles of rubbish can be found on street corners.
Rahman, a taxi driver who lives here with his two young children and wife, is really concerned about the public health implications of this waste build-up.
"When I come home at night I see, they look like cats to me, but they're actually rats. That's how big they are," he explains.
Rodents are now appearing in homes along this street, Rahman says, causing huge upset for many families.
Olivia, who lives here with her mother and younger siblings, says she sees rodents almost every day when going to work.
She says the smell is also getting worse as the weather improves.
We speak to her in front of a major pile of rubbish at the end of the street.
While most of it is household waste, some of it, like a child's car seat, appears to be the result of fly-tipping.
"I feel like as it gets darker in the evenings, people are finding great opportunity to tip whatever they have in their house which they no longer want. They should take it to a skip," she says.
At the Atlas depot, refuse workers are taking part in their daily picket.
Wendy, a single mother, has been working with Birmingham City Council for nine years.
She's a "grade three worker", a grade which the council is looking to remove as it claims it risks facing an equal pay liability if it does not.
The council is also experiencing significant financial difficulty and argues that such workers do not exist at other local authorities.
Every bin lorry has a driver and three workers at the back. Two people collect the bins, the third has other duties like collecting data, and is regarded as "safety critical" by union members.
They get paid more, and are known as grade three workers.
Wendy is one of them.
"We're not asking for pay rises, we're just asking to keep our money," she explains.
Conservative Councillor Deirdre Alden believes the "grade-three" role needs to end, as other local authorities do not have such a role.
She also wants Birmingham City Council to declare a public health emergency.
"Somebody in Edgbaston was bitten by a rat. There's been complaints in other parts of the city of rats getting into cars and chewing the wires and rats are really nasty animals that spread disease, this is a serious issue," she said.
Raj Kandola, Director of External Affairs at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, says the rubbish problem detracting from other positive aspects of the city.
"There's so many good things happening across the city right now but this is detracting from that, really spreading those negative stereotypes that we've seen pedalled by some of the national media. And we're really keen that all parties involved get together and resolve this as soon as possible," he said.
It's an opinion shared by Pat O'Neill, who has been living in Birmingham for decades after emigrating from Limerick as a young man.
He is very proud of the city and the welcome it gave to him all those years ago. However he agrees that the waste situation is causing reputational damage.
Pat, who is visually impaired, also has to contend with another problem caused by rubbish build-up, which is blocking footpaths.
Speaking in the 'Irish quarter' area of Birmingham in Digbeth, he explains that "it can be awkward.
"There are times when you go out, forgetting where you are, and you end up in a pile of rubbish but that's the way it is, you've got to learn to live with it but it can be hazardous".
