Where there's a will....

Birmingham has a problem with foul odours and an increase in foxes and rats.  Yes, the binmen are on strike. This has been going on for several weeks now, and streets are becoming clogged with black sacks full of rotting rubbish.  It seems the council and the Unite union are at loggerheads, and there is no immediate prospect of the problem being solved.  Some residents are taking matters into their own hands, and a local Muslim group is doing a great job of picking up black sacks from the streets and taking them to the tip.  But clearly this is a health hazard, and quite apart from their responsibility to collect refuse, the council also have a responsibility to deal with things like offensive smells and rodent infestations, so couldn't they just bypass the bin men and their union and deal with the situation under their public health obligations?