A DISABLED man was left with human waste festering in his bin after refuse workers did not take his colostomy bags in the weekly collection.

Derek Lowe, who has been using colostomy bags since he had a stroke last year, explained that it was not the first time refuse workers had opened his bin, taken the general waste from the top, and left the bags in the bottom.

But he says he has his 'fingers crossed' that the issue will be sorted after the company which runs the bin collection in Barrow - FCC Environment - said they had sent a special collection out and vowed not to leave it again.

Mr Lowe was especially concerned approaching the hot weather this week, as previously it has caused a smell.

He said: "They have emptied it umpteen times before but sometimes they just do not do their job properly.

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"On one occasion, I saw the lad come out, open the bin, look inside, take the top bag out and leave the rest."

Mr Lowe said he followed all NHS advice that he got when he left the hospital on how to dispose of the waste.

A spokeswoman for the bin company said: "FCC Environment can confirm that the waste bin in question was missed on this occasion. The company would like to apologise for any distress caused and confirms that a crew was sent to empty the bin as soon as possible, the missed bin has been logged as such and the collection round will be more closely monitored by a supervisor.

"On a more general level, FCC Environment would like to clarify:

  • with regard to medical waste of this nature, the advice that is given to local residents who use colostomy bags is that they empty the colostomy bag into the toilet and deposit the disposable bag in a sealed bag and deposit this in the general waste
  • missed bins should be reported directly to the Council to ensure swift action can be taken by the company directly."