8:30am Saturday 4th July 2009
By Barbara Jordan
FEARS that microchipping blue bins could invade people’s privacy have been dispelled by Halton Council.
Waste chiefs say residents will have to opt into their pioneering scheme to earn recycling reward points and stressed that no details of their dumped refuse will be recorded.
Clr Phil Harris, board member for recycling, said: “All the microchip will do is identify which household the bin has come from.
“Residents will have to opt in to activate the system. No-one is going to be forced into it.
“We are not imposing it on anyone. It is not linked to a ‘pay as you throw bin’.”
Some 10,000 residents in the wards of Broadheath, Daresbury, Grange, Halton Castle, Halton View, Heath and Hough Green will be invited to join a pilot scheme in October.
An automatic reader in the refuse wagon will read the weight of the content of each blue bin once the microchip has been activated.
Residents can earn up to £150 worth of vouchers to be spent at national retailers, local shops and businesses.
“No-one else in the country is doing this scheme,” said Clr Harris.
“We’re hoping to encourage more people to recycle rather than seeking penalties against them.
“If you don’t recycle, we won’t do anything to you but if you do, the council reduces waste going to landfill and saves money and the householder is rewarded for recycling.”
He said councillors will review the pilot after six months and only roll it out throughout Halton if it proves a success.
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