Refuse workers have sparked fury after being caught on camera mixing residents’ glass and paper recycling together during collections.

Canterbury City Council bosses have launched an investigation and vowed to take “appropriate action” after seeing the footage.

It comes after the authority announced last year that checks on recycling bins were being ramped up – with residents warned contaminated loads will not be emptied.

But the videos show workers for Canenco, the council-owned waste collection firm, tipping plastic and card all into one container.

Their actions were caught on camera on three separate occasions by people living in Elham Road near Wincheap.

One of the residents, Martin Johnson, told KentOnline it makes a “mockery of our diligence in separating it all”.

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.”

Residents in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable put their paper and card waste into red boxes, while glass and plastic go into blue bins.

This is so the recycling can be emptied into different compartments at the back of the dustcarts.

However, videos captured on May 26, June 9 and June 23 show refuse workers emptying the recycling into one larger bin which is then loaded into the truck.

Mr Johnson says there had been other incidents before the Canenco staff were caught on camera.

He told the council he would refuse to separate his recycling due to it being mixed in one bin. But he was told the authority would not take his rubbish away if he did not comply with the rules.

“I thought they would put the cardboard in one part of the truck and the rest in the other,” he added.

“It made me so annoyed that I phoned them.

“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.’

“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.”

The city council previously revealed that due to “irresponsible” householders dumping the wrong items in 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, along with a campaign to educate residents about which items can be put in which bin.

To add to residents’ frustration, GMB members working for Canenco have been on strike for the past three weeks, which has caused disruption to waste collections.

After KentOnline shared the footage from Elham Road with the city council, spokesman Rob Davies confirmed a probe has been launched into the incidents.

"We thank Mr Johnson for making us aware of these incidents and apologise to him,” he said.

“Clearly it is not acceptable for this to happen when residents have spent their time carefully separating their recycling.

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