Micro-chipped Garbage bins under pay-as-you-throw*

By Graham Tibbetts
Last Updated: 4:31pm BST 22/08/2007

Families have been warned they would be charged more for their rubbish
under plans unveiled for a series of "pay-as-you-throw" schemes.

Wheelie bins with microchips that weigh the contents, pre-paid waste
sacks and charges based on the size of bins were all suggested by the
Local Government Association in an attempt to encourage more recycling.

Rubbish for collection - The schemes could be introduced by around 2009/2010
The schemes could be introduced by 2009/2010

The association said that using a "pay-as-you-throw" incentive to
encourage recycling was backed by two in three, based on a survey it
commissioned.

But opponents cast doubt on the poll and claimed the schemes could cost
taxpayers around £20 a month, leading to more fly-tipping.

The first of the three proposals put forward by the LGA is for a system
in which householders buy pre-paid rubbish sacks of different sizes,
aimed at urban areas where wheelie bins are impractical.

The second would be the use of microchips in wheelie bins which would
allow the amount of rubbish to be weighed as it was loaded on to the
dust cart. Residents would then be billed for the amount of waste they
created.

The third option for councils would be a scheme in which householders
choose the size of the wheelie bin they use, based on how much rubbish
they think they will generate, and are charged accordingly.

The LGA described the plans as "save as you throw" and pledged not to
use them as a stealth tax to raise extra money.
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But the association warned that taxpayers would bear the brunt of fines
of up to £3 billion which will be imposed on councils over the next four
years if they did not meet European targets for reducing the amount of
waste which ends up in landfill.

England currently recycles around 27 per cent of its household refuse,
compared to more than 50 per cent in Austria and Germany.

Its survey of 1,028 people by Ipsos Mori found 64 per cent of people
either "strongly supported" or "tended to support" a system in which
they paid a reduced council tax rate and were charged directly for the
amount of rubbish they produced.

Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA’s environment board, said: "If
councils introduce save-as-you-throw schemes it will be to promote
recycling, not generate extra cash through an extra stealth tax.

"The unfortunate reality is that we must do more to reduce the amount of
waste being thrown into landfill.

"For decades people have been used to throwing their rubbish away
without worrying about the consequences. Those days are over."

The schemes would require government legislation before they could be
implemented and could be introduced in two or three years time, the LGA
said.

The latest plans to improve recycling rates and cut waste come after a
Government committee said "alternate" collections, in which rubbish is
picked up on a fortnightly basis, led to fly-tipping and people
smuggling rubbish in their neighbours’ bins.

Shadow communities secretary Eric Pickles said described the Ipsos Mori
survey as "misleading" and said "pay-as-you-throw" measures would still
involve hefty administration costs, even if they were "revenue neutral".

"Under the Government’s plans for bin taxes there will be no reduction
in council tax. The overall burden of taxation will rise so householders
will pay more," he said. "The Government’s half-baked plans wouldn’t add
up to a green measure - they are simply another stealth tax."

Blair Gibbs, campaign director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: "People
may be prepared to accept variable charging as an issue of fairness, but
cuts in council tax would have to be in the order of £20 a month to
justify charging and no current proposals from the Government guarantee
that council tax will be reduced at that level to compensate."