Recycle rort: Locals furious as garbos busted mixing paper and plastic

A major waste management company has suspended two employees after an A Current Affair investigation revealed Melbourne garbage truck drivers were treating recycling the same as general rubbish.

A Current Affair's hidden cameras captured the garbos mixing paper and plastics by emptying all the bins into the same truck in the Brunswick area, on four separate occasions.

Small business owners and residents in the Moreland City Council area have reacted angrily, and say they're surprised it's happening in such an environmentally friendly suburb.

"It's a bit of a shock really," local cafe owner Wassim Sabra said.

"I just thought all this time people were doing the right thing on the other end."

Jack Davis, from Ratepayers Victoria, has also lashed out.

"What a waste of resources," he said.

"My wife is fastidious about separating recycles with garbage, and so is the average person.

"Then council put it all in the one truck. How stupid can it all get?"

Moreland City Council's garbage collection contract is run by Citywide, and the company has launched an internal investigation.

"The vision is very disappointing. I mean the practice of mixing recyclables with waste is just not acceptable," Citywide executive of operations Duncan Reid said.

"This is a very small pocket where this has occurred, and I can guarantee the residents of Moreland that their recyclables are going into the recycling facility, and their general waste is going to a suitable land fill disposal."