'My bins were not emptied for weeks and Rotherham Council refused to empty them - it's disgusting'

A South Yorkshire woman has been left furious after Rotherham Council refused to empty the bins in her apartment block due to overflowing waste - despite collections being missed for nearly a month causing the build up of rubbish.

Miriam Charlesworth, of Highfield Lane, Waverley, alleges that when she complained to the council, an operator asked her "well, what do you expect living in an apartment?".

Miriam complained to The Star after the general waste bins at her apartment building were last emptied on January 26, 2024, two days after they should have been, with repeated missed collections since then resulting in piles of waste building up preventing the bin lids from closing.

The council told Miriam that the bins would only be emptied if the lids on the bins were closed.

"It's disgusting. It's absolutely disgusting," she said, "Rotherham Council aren't doing their job."

In an email from the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC), seen by The Star, the authority told Miriam: "Unfortunately, our waste collection crew are unable to collect any additional or excess waste that you present and can only empty your bin with the bin lid closed."

Miriam responded: "It's their fault that they're in this condition. The lids are vertical and it is going to end up on the floor."

Endless emails and phone calls with the council, MP Alexander Stafford, groundowners Harworth and the company in charge of servicing the building offered little help, Miriam claimed.

Miriam even claims one council phone operator asked her "what do you expect living in an apartment?" when she called to make another request for the rubbish to be taken away.

"I live just across from Waverley School and I can see the bin lorry not even enter the car park. They won't even bother," she said.

With nearly a month's-worth of rubbish, the store was "haven for rats," Miriam claimed.

"I'm terrified to go in there because of what I might find," she said at the time.

She claimed a neighbouring block on Waverley Walk, which is part of a housing association, uses the other side of the bin store, which she claimed also hadn't been emptied for just as long.

Miriam said she repeatedly asked RMBC to collect the waste as she believes repeat missed collections were to blame for the overflowing bins.

Rotherham Council’s Assistant Director of Community Safety and Street Scene, Sam Barstow said: "We are sorry to hear about the incidents of missed bin collections on Highfield Lane. This appears to be the result of staffing changes which has now been rectified and measures put in place to minimise disruption in the future. "A range of online forms are available on our website for residents to quickly report a variety of issues, and we encourage customers to access our services online wherever possible."

Since The Star spoke with Miriam, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has now emptied the bins in the store.