Rosie Pirrie has special dispensation for bin men to collect rubbish from the lane behind her Queen Street home, but they have failed to do so since before Christmas.
Both her bins are overflowing. The county council has since apologised for the inconvenience.
She was given the dispensation because she is unable to move the bins down the rough-surfaced lane by herself.
Her husband, William, is in the final stage of dementia and needs to have his incontinence pads changed as often as five times a day.
The 78-year-old was diagnosed with the disease three years ago. Mrs Pirrie said: “He has been a delightful and good husband for 57 years. I am on my own with my husband and I am trying to keep him alive and clean. That is my work but the council can’t do their work.”
The former Marie Curie nurse became so frustrated that she took some of the waste to the county council’s help desk at Barnard Castle Library on Wednesday last week.
The 77-year-old said: “I said this is for you. I am at my wit’s end, so you can put it in your bin because mine is over-flowing.”
She claimed the person at the help desk warned she could be fined for fly-tipping.
James Lee, Durham County Council’s waste operations manager, said: “We sympathise with Mr and Mrs Pirrie, and we’ve now made their address a priority for our bin crews, in order to make sure their needs are met in the future.
“In line with our policy for assistance in circumstances such as this, we have also given them a second waste disposal bin, free of charge, and they have special dispensation to have their bins collected from behind their house.
“Unfortunately, over the Christmas period, our bin crews have been hit with county-wide disruption due to adverse weather, leading to a number of missed bins, including at this address.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
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