You've bin framed! Homeowner catches 'lazy' binman mixing black bags with recycling sacks in his bin 'to avoid emptying them'

  • The worker was filmed putting general waste in the recycling bin of Biraj Dhande
  • Three hours later a crew arrives but it refuses to empty bin as it has mixed items
  • Mr Dhande checked CCTV outside West Bromich home as bins weren't emptied
  • Contractor Serco announced it had fired the man responsible over the incident

By Alexander Robertson For Mailonline

Published: 12:43 EDT, 5 April 2017 | Updated: 13:45 EDT, 5 April 2017

A binman has been sacked after a video emerged showing him deliberately mixing up household waste - meaning it went uncollected.

Resident Biraj Dhande filmed the worker lifting the lid of his household waste bin and then transferring bags into a recycling bin, before walking away.

CCTV shows a refuse collection crew arriving at the address in All Saints Way, West Bromwich, around three hours later.

But after sifting through the contents, one worker places a sticker on the recycling bin saying it was uncollected due to 'unsuitable items'.

A homeowner caught a 'lazy' binman mixing black bags with recycling sacks in his wheelie bins to avoid emptying them

A homeowner caught a 'lazy' binman mixing black bags with recycling sacks in his wheelie bins to avoid emptying them

Resident Biraj Dhande (pictured) filmed the worker lifting the lid of his household waste bin and then transferring bags into a recycling bin, before walking away

Resident Biraj Dhande (pictured) filmed the worker lifting the lid of his household waste bin and then transferring bags into a recycling bin, before walking away

Mr Dhande, 55, checked his home CCTV after bins were left uncollected on Tuesday morning and was left astonished by what he saw.

The father-of-two said: 'Why is he doing that? It's shocking. I'm not getting a service I am paying for. I'm playing my part by recycling.'

Serco, contracted to collect refuse on behalf of Sandwell Council, said the crew member involved 'no longer works' for the company.

Mr Dhande, who works in IT, said problems with uncollected bins began when the family moved in around a year ago.

He said: 'They weren't being emptied. They were putting a sticker on the bin saying the household waste rubbish was being mixed with the recycling bin.

'Initially, I thought it was kids messing about and I would bring the bins into the garden and sort it out, which wasn't pleasant.

'It meant my rubbish wasn't collected for a week. A few times, I had to take the rubbish in black bin bags to the council tip because I couldn't leave it for weeks.

'There wasn't a pattern, sometimes it would be collected for a week and other times it wasn't.'

Mr Dhande, 55, checked his home CCTV after bins were left uncollected on Tuesday morning and was left astonished by what he saw

Mr Dhande, 55, checked his home CCTV after bins were left uncollected on Tuesday morning and was left astonished by what he saw

A worker placed a sticker on the recycling bin saying it was uncollected due to 'unsuitable items' (pictured)

A worker placed a sticker on the recycling bin saying it was uncollected due to 'unsuitable items' (pictured)

Mr Dhande recently installed CCTV at home. And on Tuesday he decided to investigate when his recycling bin was left uncollected at 9.30am by crews.

He said: 'I looked at the CCTV and saw what appeared to be a council employee. He had dragged the household bin across the gate, to where the recycling bin was and started transferring the contents of the household bin into the recycling bin.'

John Mason, Serco's General Contract Manger: 'We expect our teams to uphold the highest standards and we are clear that the behaviour in this video is completely unacceptable. I would like to apologise and to reassure residents that we are taking this incident extremely seriously.

'I can confirm that the employee concerned no longer works for the company, and I will also be speaking to all our teams to remind them of their responsibilities.

'We very much value the efforts residents make to separate their waste and we are determined to provide residents with the very best quality of service.'

Mr Dhande has complained to the council. Sandwell Council Leader Councillor Steve Eling said: 'This is totally unacceptable and we're glad that Serco have dealt with it swiftly.'

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