Pay as you throw

More than 30 councils are fitting microchips in wheelie bins ahead of a threatened “pay as you throw” scheme for households. They are using the bugs to pinpoint areas with low recycling rates to avoid big fines in 2010 for failing to reach a 40 per cent EU target.

The news comes as it was revealed some householders have ripped out the devices and posted them to their town hall. Evidence from chips, which weigh bin contents to within 500 grammes, can’t yet be used to charge householders.

But the Local Government Association wants to give councils the right to bring in a “pay as you throw” scheme. It would mean householders being charged according to the amount of landfill waste they produce.

Paul Bettison, chairman of the environment board of the LGA, said many councils were buying bins with chips as it was cheaper than fitting the technology later.

He said: “If you were going to go to a system of charging it is a fair assumption that you’d need to a way of doing this . . . a chip in the bin would be one way.”

The LGA added the scheme did NOT mean councils would impose extra charges.

A spokesman said: “If a ‘pay as you throw’ scheme were introduced, it would lead to a cut in council tax and a separate charge for waste collection and disposal.” He said such a scheme could not be introduced without a change in legislation, and would not be imposed on councils. He added: “It would be open to councils to decide whether that was the best way for them to deal with the issue in their area.”

Bournemouth Council in Hampshire has already faced a backlash. Of 75,000 chips, a third have been unscrewed by council taxpayers.

The LGA said: “If local authorities introduce chips they need to let local people know, and explain why, if they are going to use them.”