Piles of uncollected bin bags were thrown on to the streets by locals leaving the area scattered with rubbish.
Traffic was blocked on Thursday night by the torn bin bags and their contents, which were strewn across pavements and roads.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said the force were called out to Bryant Street following the reports, with commuters even having to navigate past broken glass.
The Highway Department of the City Council were called out to clear the mess.
“There are piles of rubbish and bin bags all over the place. It’s a huge health and safety risk for residents,” said one driver.
Another said, “I have just passed the prison and there are black bags thrown in to the road. The police are present.
“There is rubbish spread along the road. Cars have driven through ripped bags.
“Youths are throwing bags in the roads. There is lots of glass everywhere.
“Traffic been slow as they struggle to get though the mess,” he added.
The scene was seen by some as an attempt by the locals to get the council to clear up the backlog of bags amid the strike, which was suspended last week.
One woman said, “It needed to be done, because if we didn’t pay council tax for three weeks, what would happen?
“[We’d] be taken to court, wouldn’t we? So why aren’t our bins picked up for over three weeks?”
