A Banbridge resident has warned people are being left with few options as ongoing industrial action in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council area leaves them without rubbish collections.
The strike action has been going on since August with no definite end date in sight, although the Council is holding a special sitting on Tuesday night to discuss it.
Lindsay Hamill told Belfast Live that people are finding themselves squeezed into a corner when it comes to trying to keep their properties healthy and liveable.
Read more: PSNI investigating murder of Brian McIlhagga make arrest
"We heard it was going to be a four-week strike and obviously it was very hot weather in August, so particularly the black bin rubbish was starting to get unpleasant quite quickly.," she said.
"One collection missed is manageable because I think most people could get by with two collections in their black bin but that's different obviously if you have a bigger family.
"Once the stuff started overflowing, then you were into maggots starting to appear around the bins and flies.
"We had a horsefly crop in our bin and we had to get extermination equipment for it."
Lindsay said people soon found themselves having to confront the issue of having overflowing bins that were leading to nasty smells and were attracting rats and insects.
"You have people having fires, you seen fly tipping starting around Banbridge and Lurgan, there were some private options but that's obviously not available to everyone - it's a stark choice because there weren't other solutions out forward," she added.
"People around here are really embarrassed because they want to do the right thing, they're decent people and they like to do the right thing but there's no solution to us.
"I went out this morning and for the first morning I could really smell the rubbish in the air, it's really vile, I think it's coming across from the Scarva Road dump."
Lindsay told Belfast Live a friend in Lurgan messaged her to say they were facing an even worse situation and she went to see for herself at the Newline dump site, where rubbish is piling up along the side of the site.
"There's random bits of fly tipping as well and it smells vile, the conditions those people that live near there are putting up with are unbelievable.
"I fully support the right of the binmen to take democratic action to improve their pay and conditions - that isn't the problem.
"The problem is people pretending this isn't a problem for local people - we're just stuck in this foul smelling, unhealthy environment with no promise of an end in sight."
Lindsay says residents feel they have not been given any indication as to when their next rubbish collection might be.
"I've a friend with a young baby and they're trying to deal with the nappies from that.
"He's in the position where he's having to climb into the bin at night to jump up and down to try to get the bin lid closed and then he's sealing it closed with duct tape.
"There are other people who might be in small properties and things are overflowing and they don't want to fly tip because it's wrong, but what can they do?
"I would be absolutely delighted if we can get a resolution, but we've had false dawns before.
"If someone was to say it's another two weeks or something, you could maybe suck that up but we don't know if it's going to finish."
READ NEXT:
- Couple return from Garth Brooks gig with newborn after country star 'brought on labour'
- Waitress left to foot the bill after table of diners leave without paying
- NI councils probe dozens of disputes between neighbours about high hedges
- Several tonnes of 'ghost net' removed from Co Down beach with a digger
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
