Dundee business owners fear an infestation of vermin as rubbish piles up during the bin workers strike.
Street bins in the city centre and Broughty Ferry are already full, with seagulls spotted picking through the litter on Thursday morning.
It comes after refuse workers in Dundee and Angus began an eight-day strike on Wednesday in a dispute over pay.
No bins are being emptied in Dundee during the strike.
Angus Council says it is attempting to collect as many bins as possible – but has warned locals there is still significant disruption.
Seagulls and rats ‘biggest worry’ during Dundee bin strikes
Heather Judge, owner of Coffee and Co at the top of Reform Street in the city centre, is storing waste in her basement in order to keep the street clean.
She told The Courier: “This is just the start of it.
“By Monday there’s going to be a lot of rubbish out on the streets.
“We’ve started keeping our rubbish downstairs. There’s not a lot yet but there will be soon.
“It just doesn’t look good on the street, especially if we want to have tourists coming to the city.
“What are they going to think?
“Obviously, there’s the seagulls too – they’re horrendous.
“Even if you’re double-bagging things they’re strong enough to rip through and then they leave rubbish everywhere.
“Seagulls, rats and mice are the biggest worry.”
Akbar Mohammed, who works at Kurdish Barbers on Reform Street, is also concerned about the waste attracting pests.
He said: “The street has been so dirty for the last two days.
“You can see the front of the shop already isn’t nice.
“We pay a business rate on council tax and this is what happens.
“I haven’t seen rats here yet but I’ve seen them some other places in Dundee.”
Workers in Perth and Kinross are set to go on strike from Friday until Monday.
Councils across the region have issued advice for residents – including whether bins should be presented at the kerbside for collection during the strikes.
Staff of businesses in Broughty Ferry are also worried, as bins begin to overflow.
Susan Killen, owner of Brook Street café Victoria Sponge, said: “Our bins are full already and we’ve got nowhere to store the bags.
“I don’t have a plan and I don’t know what we’ll do with the skips and recycling centre closed.
“We’ll have to keep it at the back door so customers don’t see it but I’m worried about rats and the smell.”
A new dad in Broughty Ferry said he is worried about his newborn’s nappies piling up.
He said: “Our bin wasn’t taken yesterday which was a bit worrying.
“We have a tonne of nappies piling up and our bins are full already.
“I don’t know what we’ll do to be honest.”
The latest pay offer from councils umbrella body Cosla was made to workers on Tuesday but was rejected by unions.
Unite, the biggest union involved in the dispute, claims the offer does not keep up with the cost of living.
Members said they held “constructive talks” with Deputy First Minister John Swinney on Wednesday night, with the politician set to engage further with Cosla on the issue.
Cosla claims its offer is “one of, if not the best offer in decades for Scottish local government workers during some of the most trying times for councils”.
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