Bin next to Edinburgh Castle left overflowing for 24 hours despite five calls to council

So frustrated families were amazed to find a communal bin left overflowing for 24 hours despite five calls to the council.

Photos emerged online of household waste and fast food cartons spilling onto the street as pedestrians strolled past.

Lisa Rice, 36, whose parents own the nearby Maxies bistro, said: “It’s such a gorgeous city with so many tourists and that’s where they queue up for the Tattoo so it’s not a good advertisement for Edinburgh at all.”

“It was my dad who noticed it yesterday morning. We have a restaurant and customers were coming in and mentioning it - it’s not a nice thing to see.

“We phoned four times yesterday and when we phoned again this morning they said they hadn’t noted it down properly and that’s why they hadn’t been out.

“There were a lot of tied up black bags and there are a lot of rented flats around here - there were burger wrappers in there too.”

In January, the council’s environment convener demanded officials ensure bin collections get back on track after being inundated with thousands of complaints.

In one week alone, more than 2,500 grievances were received after a new service was rolled out in October.

Proposals floated to improve the service included responding to missed collections on the same day instead of being added to a backlog.

The council insisted the problems with waste collections are “complex” and included issues with the Routesmart system which uses satellite technology to plan pick-ups.

Other issues include drivers parking cars next to communal bins and waste being contaminated or trade waste dumped in communal bins.

Residents putting bins out on the wrong day for collection have also been highlighted as hampering the service.

Three years ago, the Evening News launched its Bin Watch campaign to tackle missed collections and unsightly streets.

Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “This communal bin was emptied this morning and the bags of excess waste around it were also removed.

“We know it’s frustrating when collections are held up and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“We’re working extremely hard to drive up our performance so that residents receive the level of service they deserve.”