Smart Wheelie bins to charge for waste

Wheelie bins with microchips which measure how much rubbish they contain could be introduced to make householders cut down on their waste.

Alternatively, under plans outlined by council leaders today, people could be charged according to the size of their bin or of their rubbish bags which they would buy from the local authority.

The Local Government Association denied the plans would be a stealth tax to raise extra cash for councils.

It warned that if householders do not recycle more, taxpayers would bear the brunt of fines of up to £3billion which will be imposed on
councils for missing European targets on reducing the amount of landfill waste.

The association said a survey carried out by Ipsos Mori found 38 per cent of people strongly supported a system in which they would pay a reduced council-tax rate and be charged directly for the amount of rubbish they produced.

The poll of 1,028 British adults found that a further 26 per cent "tend to support" the proposals, which would mean the more they recycled the less they paid.

The LGA said any scheme would have to be supported by residents.

Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA's environment board, said: "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 by 2009 or 2010, the LGA said.