A City News investigation has revealed that some refuse collection trucks in Tower Hamlets are mixing household waste with recycling.
City News has evidence of this happening at least twice in the span of two weeks at different locations in the borough.
The first was filmed by a resident in Bow Church who sent the video to City News. The collection truck is seen mixing the recycling with household waste on 24 November.
City News filmed a similar incident in Whitechapel on Monday.
A truck was seen picking up refuse at one location, before moving further along its route, where recycling was collected and mixed with the household waste.
A refuse collector for Tower Hamlets council, who asked not to be filmed or identified, told City News drivers often mix the two types of garbage as the recycling bins are overflowing.
They said even after repeated complaints, recycling bins are often not emptied.
They said this leaves them with no choice but to dump it all in the same truck.
In March, the council secured £2.1m from the Government to help ensure that residents can benefit from improved recycling facilities.
Local resident Osh, told City News that he was very unhappy that despite this new budget, issues with recycling are still ongoing.
“I think it’s quite irresponsible. I think with that kind of money, they could do a better job.”
“I don’t think it’s acceptable and responsible. We deserve better.”
Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show Tower Hamlets has been struggling with recycling for a while.
The borough has the second lowest recycling rate in London as of 2021, with only 19% of waste being recycled.
Former Tower Hamlets councillor Andrew Wood told City News the council may be allowing the waste mixing to continue as they are experiencing a shortage of collection drivers:
“They have had problems recruiting truck drivers, which means fewer trucks. Which means they can’t run a normal waster refuse service as well as a recycling one. So, they are mixing the two waste services together.”
When asked about the allegations of waste mixing by collectors, a spokesperson for Tower Hamlets told City News:
“Recycling is essential for the environment and essential if we are to keep Tower Hamlets clean. We urge people to be vigilant and careful when dispensing of their waste, so we can make our borough a cleaner, healthier and happier place to live.”
They did not directly address the fact that it is the waste collectors who have been filmed mixing household rubbish with recycling, not the residents, even when City News asked for clarification.
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This article is available publicly, after being checked by at least one member of staff at the Department of Journalism.