RUBBISH residents are turning the backstreets of Barrow into a tip - with piles of dirty nappies, mouldy food and even dangerous medication being dumped in alleys before binmen have even done their rounds.

Litter is a hot topic in Barrow at the moment. While some residents argue that it is a lack of civic pride and sheer laziness that is to blame others claim the binmen are being careless and allowing litter to fall out of wheelie bins during their rounds.

The Mail spent the morning with the binmen to see what's really going on.

We visited a number of town centre streets on bin day - before, during and after wheelie bins were emptied and our findings were startling.

Backstreets are being left in a disgusting state ahead of the binmen's arrival, as our video (below) shows.

Some, such as the gated alley behind Ramsden Street where it meets School Street, looked more like a landfill site. Seagulls lined up on the backyard walls as they waited for the opportunity to rifle through the mounds of rubbish.

A number of residents came out to speak to us during our visit.

One man said the alley was "always like this".

He said: "There are some people who do take pride in where they live, and make sure they put their bins out properly, but there are others who just don't give a damn.

"I've seen people lobbing bin bags over their backyards into the alley; their attitude is 'someone else will clean it up so why should I care'."

Behind Cross Street and School Street we looked inside a number of recycling bins.

Most showed people were using the service properly but as with household rubbish, the thoughtless minority are effectively using their red bins as second household waste bins.

On the ground, we found a half-full strip of Lamotrigine - anti-seizure pills used to treat epilepsy.

Barrow pharmacist Ben Merriman said if taken by a child, the medicine could cause drowsiness, headaches, double vision, sickness and vomiting.

"You should never dispose of medicines in normal rubbish or recycling bins," he said.

"All pharmacies can accept unwanted or expired medicines regardless of where they were dispensed."

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Strictly speaking, the binmen aren't supposed to pick up loose bags or discarded litter but where they can, they do and their job is a tough one, regardless of who's watching them.

Within reason, the odd bit of non-recyclable waste in a red bin will be overlooked, but the contents of some were simply horrifying.

In one behind Storey Square, what at first glance looked like dog poo turned out, on closer examination, to be a pile of rotting beetroot infested with flies and unidentifiable crawling insect.

Residents complain when a tag is placed on their bin informing them that it cannot be emptied because it contains contaminated waste. But why should the binmen have to root through rotting food and tied carrier bags not knowing what they might find?

The supervisors and managers who look after the binmen are equally frustrated.

For them, they are tasked with protecting their staff as well as trying to deliver a service to the town.

But they are clear when it comes to defending their men: "These lads get a lot of the stick, and it's not fair on them because they're not in a position to stick up for themselves and it's difficult to say to people 'well hang on, actually you're the one who's responsible'," one told us.

FCC Environment manages the household waste and recycling collections across the borough of Barrow.

A spokeswoman said: "FCC Environment is committed to keeping the streets of Barrow clean, and as part of its contract cleans the streets in line with an agreed schedule to meet the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act.

"We are currently in talks with the council to review this focusing on how we can best use the resources we are committed to in the contract.

"We do need to make it clear however that it is not in the remit of the bin crews to pick up any stray waste or overflowing bins left with the lids open.

"It is the responsibility of residents to pick up any litter that they create. Litter and side-waste (bags of waste left to the side of bins) are a particular problem in Barrow and surrounding areas as they are a target for seagulls.

"Littered areas are cleaned by the cage crews as a special request by the council or on the scheduled cleaning day.

"We are asking residents to help us to keep the town clean. Littering can be avoided by using public bins or taking waste and recycling home for proper disposal."

So what's the answer? How can we clean up Barrow's streets?

Working together is key - the binmen will continue to do their jobs, and more, but this relies on residents taking collective responsibility for the communities in which they live. No one person, or organisation, can fix this but together we can make Barrow a better, cleaner place.

RED RECYCLING WHEELIE BINS: What you can and can't put inside

YES

Paper (as long as there are no staples);

Books (as above);

Cardboard (including pizza boxes),

Aerosol cans (deodorant and shaving foam tins for instance);

Plastic bottles including milk bottles;

Tin foil;

Washing liquid bottles;

Fabric softener bottles;

Aluminium cans as well as steel tins and drinks cans.

NO

Black food containers (like those used for ready meals - any other colour is fine but black cannot be recycled);

Plastic film - like those used on the top of ready meals;

Lucozade bottles (the plastic wrapper and bottle are made of a plastic which can't be recycled);

Any container which has food waste in it (drinks are different as the process squashes and empties them);

Pringles containers;

Carrier bags (even if they contain recyclable material).