Garbos caught dumping recycling and rubbish together
Exclusive: A private waste collection company has been caught on camera dumping bins full of recyclable material into garbage trucks filled with rubbish.
It's the latest scandal to rock Australia's recycling industry after revelations hundreds of millions of plastic items were being stockpiled in a Melbourne warehouse, instead of being recycled.
Major Melbourne events and almost 500 apartment buildings are serviced by Urban Waste, which has been subject to multiple complaints from residents for more than a year.
Following a tip-off, A Current Affair's cameras captured Urban Waste workers picking up recycling and rubbish in the same trucks. A Current Affair
Footage of Urban Waste workers picking up recycling and rubbish in the same trucks. A Current Affair
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Following a tip-off, A Current Affair's cameras captured Urban Waste workers picking up recycling and rubbish in the same trucks from numerous properties in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs.
"This company should be collecting the yellow bin separately, with a different truck, and take it to a material recycling facility where they can then do the sorting," Jeff Angel from the Boomerang Alliance said.
"That's the normal practice."
Hundreds of millions of plastic items were being stockpiled in a Melbourne warehouse, instead of being recycled. A Current Affair
Major Melbourne events and almost 500 apartment buildings are serviced by Urban Waste, which has been subject to multiple complaints from residents for more than a year. A Current Affair
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The recycling advocate described the move as a slap in the face to Australians trying to do the right thing.
"People are very, very enthusiastic about recycling," Angel said.
"Unfortunately this type of publicity does lose confidence in recycling."
Jeff Angel from the Boomerang Alliance. A Current Affair
A private waste collection company has been caught on camera dumping bins full of recyclable material into garbage trucks filled with rubbish. A Current Affair
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Urban Waste refused to answer A Current Affair's questions, outside of claiming that recycling was only mixed with rubbish when recycling bins had been contaminated by residents.
Angel has called for better regulation and oversight from the government to stamp out what he described as "cowboys" in the industry.
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