The RF microchips, produced by the waste container supplier Sulo, carry an electronic identity code and will be attached to Newtownabbey's new brown composting bins.
The chips are part of a new scheme to be run by Newtownabbey following a successful trial last year. The council introduced brown wheeled bins to replace its degradable sack scheme at 1,000 households. The council will now add the chips to these original 1,000 bins and is to expand the scheme with a view to having 24,000 chipped bins in the borough by the end of next year.
 (left to right) Hugh Kelly, Cllr Ivan Hunter and Noeleen Byrne of Newtownabbey council, Dr Sara McGuckin of the Environment & Heritage Service and Arthur McCune from the council at the launch of the new scheme |
Commenting on the new scheme Arthur McCune, Newtownabbey council's cleansing manager, said: “We needed to evaluate, in great detail, the level of participation in the new scheme.
“Fitting the bins with RF chips and implementing an on-board weigh and ID system was the best way we could generate sufficiently viable data. Previously the data was being collected at recycling and CA site weighbridges, this system is much quicker and more practical,” he explained.
Each Seddon Atkinsons collection vehicle is fitted with an antenna which reads the chips, these chips also weigh the bins as they are being lifted by the Terberg lifting gear. The vehicles are supplied by Cahill Motor Engineering.
Data system
The bins' identification number and weight is fed into a data card in the vehicles cab along with the date and time that the container was emptied. At the completion of each round the card is removed and the data downloaded into Newtownabbey's computer system.
The council has information on the location of each chipped bin and by using the chips can put together a “detailed” record of collection times and recyclable waste collected from each household in the scheme.
The council now claim to be able to identify how each household is responding to its new compost recycling initiative, how much a household is actually participating, contamination of materials and identifying households where the recycling rate is low.
The system may also allow the council, which is currently recycling 17% of its waste, to increase its funding towards recycling in the future. Mr McCune explained: “Reporting to and securing funding from the government regarding new recycling initiatives requires the submission of detailed facts and figures, the data we collect through this system is invaluable in this respect.”
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