Infuriated residents watch as binmen mix separated recycling into one bin – as they stage a mutiny against the council for ‘making a mockery of us’

Residents were left furious after they watched a group of binmen mix their separated recycling into one bin.

Workers in Canterbury in Kent were caught combining glass, plastic, paper and cardboard waste into one container, angering locals for making a ‘mockery’ of them after they spent time to separate it. 

Some residents were so infuriated by what they saw that they phoned up the council and refused to sort their waste when it would inevitably end up being mixed together anyway.

Canterbury City Council said they would investigate the situation, but it has also threatened not to collect residents’ rubbish if they refused to separate it. 

One video, filmed by a resident who wishes to remain anonymous, shows workers in orange high-viz suits hurriedly dumping rubbish from small red, black and blue bins into a larger red bin before taking it to the lorry.

One video, filmed by a resident who wishes to remain anonymous, shows workers in orange high-viz suits hurriedly dumping rubbish from small red, black and blue bins into a larger red bin

Some residents, including former binman, Martin Johnson (pictured), were so infuriated by what they saw that they phoned up the council and refused to sort their waste when it would merely end up being mixed together

Similar actions were said to have been observed and filmed on three separate occasions by locals who have been gathering video evidence to prove that their rubbish is not being separated properly.

The council announced last year that checks on recycling bins would be ‘ramped-up’; warning residents that contaminated loads would not be emptied by the authority’s waste collection firm, Canenco.

Residents in Canterbury are asked to put their paper and cardboard waste into red boxes and their glass and plastic in blue bins, ostensibly so the rubbish can be emptied into different recycling compartments at the back of rubbish trucks.

One former binman, Martin Johnson, said waste workers were making a ‘mockery’ of people’s diligence in responsibly separating their rubbish.

The 66-year-old said: ‘I am a very keen recycler because this is what the world wants us to do.

‘Obviously in my youth, it was no problem at all – but we are using up the Earth’s resources at a hell of a rate of knots and we need to do something to help the planet.

‘Having previously been an agency dustcart driver and knowing how things operate from the inside, I was dismayed by seeing it all go into one part of the truck.

‘I assume they take it to the recycling site and tip it up altogether.

‘I thought they would put the cardboard in one part of the truck and the rest in the other. It made me so annoyed that I phoned them.’

Mr Johnson, who said there were other occasions when Canenco workers had been caught off camera combining recyclables, phoned the council to tell them he refused to continue separating his recycling when workers later simply mixed it into the same bin.

But the council said that if he did refuse to separate his recycling, his bins would not be collected.

‘I told them: “That’s it. I’m not sorting out my recycling anymore and I’m going to chuck it all into one bin,”‘ Mr Johnson explained.

Workers in Canterbury in Kent were caught combining their glass, plastic, paper and cardboard waste into one container, angering locals for making a ‘mockery’ of them after they spent time to separate it

Mr Johnson said waste workers were making a ‘mockery’ of people’s diligence in responsibly separating their rubbish

Residents were left furious after they watched a group of binmen mix their separated recycling into one bin

The bin man then hurriedly takes the larger red bin to the lorry before it is lifted into the back compartment

‘The lady on the other end of the phone said: “Excuse me, sir, we won’t pick it up”.

‘I told her they will, as that’s what they’re doing anyway. At the time, we didn’t have the proof but now we have the videos.

‘It makes me furious. It makes a mockery of our diligence in separating it all.’

Canterbury City Council previously revealed that due to ‘irresponsible’ householders dumping the wrong items into bins, more than 670 tonnes of contaminated recycling had to be sent to landfill across the district in 2021.

The authority launched a crackdown last year alongside a campaign to educate residents about which items go in which bins.

To add to residents’ frustration, GMB members working for Canenco have been striking for the past three weeks – causing further disruption to waste collections.

City Council spokesman Rob Davies confirmed an investigation had been launched into the incidents, and issued an apology to Mr Johnson.

‘Clearly it is not acceptable for this to happen when residents have spent their time carefully separating their recycling,’ Mr Davies said.

‘We thank Mr Johnson for making us aware of these incidents and apologise to him.

‘We can reassure Mr Johnson that this will be fully investigated and appropriate action is taken.’