Footage which shows the contents of a food waste bin being tipped in with recycling by a bin man has sparked outrage.

Matt Perry, of Bower Lane, Maidstone, captured the incident on his Ring doorbell on Tuesday, September 17 at 1.35pm.

He says it is “completely unacceptable” but Suez, which is responsible for waste collection in the area, says it was a “well-intentioned” mistake.

Vincent Masseri, general manager of Suez says the event in the footage was a result of a vehicle breakdown, which meant crews had to use a truck with one compartment instead of the usual two.

Despite this, a Maidstone council spokesperson said the authority “does not condone” the mixing of recycling and food waste and has reminded crews that the practice is “not acceptable”.

Matt, said: “All the effort made to follow packaging guidelines on disposal was a complete waste of time.

“If the council seeks to increase their rates each year, this sort of thing should not be happening.

“This is by no-means an isolated problem so either the contractor should be replaced, or their training principles scrutinised.

“It’s completely unacceptable behaviour contaminating recycling.”

In response, Suez said: “Collecting the recycling and food waste together was a well-intentioned mistake in an effort not to leave any waste uncollected.

“Since taking over the contract, we have introduced processes that prioritise keeping waste streams separate and this footage highlights the importance of continuing to work with our team to fully embed this process.

“We’d like to apologise to the households affected and reassure them that we’ll be carrying out further training to help avoid a repeat of the mistake.”

Meanwhile, Maidstone council said: “Following the incident, the waste collection crews have been reminded that this practice is not acceptable and that the council prides itself on the strong recycling rates of its residents.”

Deputy leader and cabinet member for environmental services and enforcement for Maidstone council, Cllr Clive English (Lib Dem), said: “The incident occurred because a relief crew was trying to save time.

“Suez have instructed staff very clearly after the council raised this with them, that it is vital not to do this and it’s important not to mix waste even if it takes longer.

“To make it clearer when procedures are being followed, we will be carrying out a bin swap with Swale so that correctly used additional bins are clearly identifiable by being a different colour.

“These measures taken together should help.”

Suez Recycling and Recovery has been operating the authority's waste programme since March as part of the eight-year and £152 million Mid-Kent Waste Partnership contract serving some 460,000 residents across Swale, Maidstone and Ashford.

The takeover has been dogged by issues, including thousands of missed collections.

Swale council has launched an investigation into what went wrong and has appealed for people to share their experiences.

Following a three-month grace period, local authorities can penalise Suez financially should it fail to meet the terms of its contract.

Households, however, will not be compensated for any missed collections.