Following this week's national and local press outrage over councils fitting “spy bugs” into household waste bins, many councils are assuring their residents that microchips fitted to bins are not currently being used to record information about waste arisings.
Some authorities are also pledging never to monitor waste arisings on an individual basis.
 South Norfolk has said its bin-weighing microchip system is not an infringement of human rights legislation |
Councils are explaining that their decisions to fit electronic tags, saying they are being used to speed up data collection and to anticipate possible changes in waste legislation regarding charging for collections.
Authorities have also explained that fitting microchips during the manufacturing of wheeled bins saves considerable cost compared to fitting the chips retrospectively.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth borough council has been one of those defending its decision to include controversial micro-chips on bins, with a new twin-bin waste collection service being launched next week.
The authority is giving householders smaller residual waste bins in a bid to improve recycling rates, with new bins being delivered over the summer. The unitary authority said it already collected data concerning the amount of waste produced in the borough, but that the microchips could speed up that data collection “should we decide to proceed with this technology”.
The council insisted its microchips would “not be there to monitor bins on an individual basis” and said it would monitor only general trends and allow misplaced or stolen bins to be returned to their households.
Cllr John Hayter, Bournemouth's 'Recycling Champion', told residents: “Taking advantage of new technology would help the council to deliver a high quality waste and recycling service for the residents of Bournemouth.”
Opposition
Opposition councillors across the country have been lining up to denounce the “bugging” of household bins by local authorities, with officers attempting to assure local newspapers and residents that there is “nothing sinister” in the use of microchips.
The overwhelming sense from local media has been that, whether or not the microchips are truly “Big Brother” devices, there has been a general lack of information provided to householders concerning the chips in their bins.
Waveney district council has promised that all residents will be kept “fully informed of any plans to monitor how much waste is produced”, after it was revealed that the Suffolk district is using chips in all new blue and green recycling bins.
” It costs a little over a 1 per bin to install the chips at the manufacturing stage and 4 per bin to fit them at a later date. “
– Cllr Ken Sale, Waveney DC
It said its use of the bins was only in anticipation of possible future legislation, and that the technology had not been activated in the area. It added that no residual waste bins were fitted with the chips.
Cllr Ken Sale, Waveney's portfolio holder for the built environment, said: “We purchased the bins with chips installed to 'f;uture proof' our service. It costs a little over a 1 per bin to install the chips at the manufacturing stage and 4 per bin to fit them at a later date should it be found to be necessary later. Given that there are over 53,000 households in Waveney, the financial difference is enormous. But I must emphasise that we are currently not using the chips for any reason and if we do, residents will be informed in advance.”
Cllr Sale added that chips would “only ever be introduced to monitor general trends in the district and there is no way that we would use it to target individuals”.
Denbighshire
Denbighshire county council, in North Wales, is also assuring its residents that “neither the type or amount of rubbish they are disposing of is being monitored electronically”.
The council's new bin scheme was introduced earlier this year, but it said it did not have “any of the necessary systems to use the chip”. It also explained its decision to fit the chips was to save costs in future, “should a decision be made to monitor bin collections”.
Cllr Eryl Williams, Denibighshire's cabinet lead member for environment, said: “Although the bins have chips there are no plans as yet to use them. We are trying to encourage people to recycle as much of their household waste as possible and we have significant government targets to reach, but checking on what people put in their wheelie bins or charging people who generate more waste than others is not part of our plans.
” Checking on what people put in their wheelie bins or charging people who generate more waste than others is not part of our plans. “
– Cllr Eryl Williams, Denbighshire CC
“It would require a change in legislation to allow us to charge for waste collection by weight,” Cllr Williams added.
Tandridge
Even councils that have not fitted microchips to their bins have had to reassure the public that they are not running “secret surveillance operations” against their residents.
Tandridge district council, in Surrey, is one of those telling householders it is “not considering moving to wheelie bins with special electronic devices which measure how much waste people throw away”. It has said a survey of residents stated most were not in favour of wheeled bins, and said it would improve recycling rates by encouraging participation in kerbside box collections.
Cllr Eric Morgan, chairman of the community services committee, said: “We would like to reassure residents we are not introducing electronically chipped wheelie bins or any special devices to measure the amount of household waste we collect.”
South Norfolk
South Norfolk district council has been collecting information individually about household waste arisings. The council has posted information prominently on its website explaining the reasons behind this, and how collected data is used.
” We would not have been able to install chips in the first place if it was an infringement of human rights. “
– South Norfolk DC
The authority – part of a Defra-funded trial of household recycling incentives (see letsrecycle.com story) – said articles had appeared in the local media concerning the microchips when the scheme was launched in 2002.
It said information gathered allowed the council to calculate the recycling rate for the district, village or household; help officers investgate missed refuse collections; help plan collection rounds and monitor collection staff and vehicle performance.
The authority warned that residents removing their microchips would not have their waste collected, because collection vehicles would be unable to lift them. South Norfolk also dismissed concerns that the system was an abuse of human rights.
The council said: “The information we collect is protected by the Data Protection Acts. We would not have been able to install chips in the first place if it was an infringement of human rights.”
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