As any local government boss worth his salt must know, you mess with dustbin collections at your own peril.

The Labour government discovered this when it all but abandoned a move to force councils to switch to fortnightly dustbin collections, as part of an attempt to encourage recycling, when it became clear that the endeavour was highly unpopular.

Of all the services provided by councils, refuse collection has the unique ability to raise the most passion and inspire normally placid residents to great anger when things go wrong. People expect their bins to be emptied once a week, on time, and are apt to point out that the organisation of such collections is hardly rocket science.

Cities and towns across the country find themselves in an unenviable position at the start of this year. A combination of bank holidays, when most refuse crews do not work, and some of the worst snow for decades, has resulted in delayed collections and given local newspapers and television stations an unexpected new year’s bonus in the shape of pictures illustrating rotting bin bags piled high on the side of streets.

The problems have been exacerbated in Birmingham by industrial action, which has seen council binmen strike and pursue a damaging work to rule.

The coalition Government’s nervousness about this is clear to see, with Local Government Minister Bob Neil accusing councils of complacency and urging them to move far more quickly to clear the backlog of rubbish. He went further, suggesting that some local authorities regarded their duty to empty bins as “a favour, not a right”.

Mr Neil did not single out Birmingham for criticism, and it would be unfair to accuse the city council of complacency given the efforts being made to sort out a highly complex problem inherited by the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat administration.