Council warning as 'disgusting' recycling bin full of used tissues left for collection

A council has issued a plea to households after an unhygienic box of recycling filled with used tissues was left on a kerbside.

North Somerset Council, which shared a picture of the unsanitary bin on Facebook, fears that personal waste could create an infection risk for collectors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Like other authorities, it has been asking residents not to put items such as used kitchen and toilet roll in their recycling, Bristol Live reports.

In a social media post, the council has made clear that bins containing these items will not be collected, due to the risk of spreading the highly contagious Covid-19.

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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 10: NHS workers in PPE take a patient with an unknown condition from an ambulance at St Thomas' Hospital on April 10, 2020 in London, England. Public Easter events have been cancelled across the country, with the government urging the public to respect lockdown measures by celebrating the holiday in their homes. Over 1.5 million people across the world have been infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus, with over 7,000 fatalities recorded in the United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

A spokesperson said: "This box was left out for the crew yesterday. Do NOT put tissues, kitchen roll, toilet paper or paper hand towels in your recycling boxes.

"These are NOT recyclable and could pose a threat to crews. Boxes containing these items will NOT be collected."

Scores of outraged people responded to the message slamming the homeowner.

One person wrote: "Eurgh! That's disgusting at any time let alone with everything that's going on at the moment."

And someone said: "That is one of the worst I ever saw. Disgusting."

While another person said: "Inconsiderate, ignorant people."

It is not known which street the photograph was taken in.

However, it is not the first time that residents in North Somerset have been publicly shamed for ignoring advice aiming to reduce the spread of the deadly bug.

Earlier this month, the council posted an image of another recycling box which was also full of used tissues.

At the time, a spokesperson said: “Increased volumes of recycling are being put out and residents are being urged to help the crews cope by correctly sorting their recycling boxes.

“This is an example of what a crew faced, with a jumbled box containing tissues.

“This rightly causes crews, who are working extremely hard in challenging conditions, concerns.

"This box was not collected.”

It comes as the UK's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has reached almost 13,000, after increasing by 801 yesterday.

The new total as at 9am is 12,958 - although that includes only hospital deaths with the toll feared to be far higher when fatalities in care homes are taken into account.