Wheelie bins tagged for rubbish tax

Wheelie bins tagged for rubbish tax

Local Councils have been warend by privacy campaigners to think very carefully before considering any extension to the electronic tagging of household refuse bins.

Hidden electronic bin tags have been recently introduced in some areas of the UK in an effort to monitor how much rubbish people throw away. Some fear that the technology is a step closer to a "pay as you throw" policy that would penalise those who choose not to recycle. Some refuse collection lorries contain weighing equipment which can link this information to the amount of rubbish collected from each owner.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has called on the Government to give councils the power to introduce variable waste charging schemes. Richard Carden, chair of South Norfolk Council, said the tags have been installed in more than 90,000 bins during the past two years.
He said residents were aware of the system and some had even made requests under the Freedom of Information Act to access council records.

Refuse bin tagging could herald a new 'stealth tax' (24Dash.com, 27 August 2006)