Garbage piles up in Birmingham as the U.K. city's sanitation strike enters 5th week

As heaps of black bags littered sidewalks with their contents spilling out of holes chewed by critters, the city council declared a major incident to bring in additional cleanup crews and vehicles.

Garbage piles up in Birmingham as the U.K. city's sanitation strike enters 5th week
Local residents deliver rubbish to mobile collection vehicles in Erdington, Birmingham, England on Monday.

As heaps of black bags littered sidewalks with their contents spilling out of holes chewed by critters, the city council declared a major incident to bring in additional cleanup crews and vehicles.

(Image credit: Jacob King)