Devon waste firm apologises for flying rubbish

FCC blamed "Covid and vacancy issues" which had left collection rounds short staffed

A council waste contractor has apologised for "unfortunate" scenes of waste paper and plastic flying from one of its trucks in the countryside.

An FCC Environment truck was filmed shedding the waste in south Devon.

The truck was captured on dashcam footage by a driver on the road between Malborough and Salcombe.

FCC said in a statement it "would like to apologise wholeheartedly for this unfortunate incident".

The firm provides all waste and recycling collection services on behalf of South Hams District Council (SHDC).

SHDC promised a "full investigation" and said the rubbish had been picked up.

Councillor Keith Baldry, executive member for the environment, said: "I was appalled and shocked - I think it's disgraceful."

He said the vehicle was "totally unsuitable" for the type of waste in the truck, which appeared to be mostly paper.

"It doesn't take many brain cells to work out that you can't put loose paper, especially shredded paper, into the back of an open truck on a windy day," he said.

"This is a beautiful bit of countryside, which has been littered.

"We will be looking at the contract to see whether we can apply penalties to the contractor."

FCC Environment blamed the incident on "Covid and vacancy issues" which had left collection rounds short staffed.

It said the vehicle type sent to support the recycling crew was "not suited to the transportation of shredded paper".