Monday 16 June 2008

Chipped bins schemes

The Government said pilot schemes testing micro-chipped wheelie bins will go ahead even though one council which tried out the technology scrapped it after it "failed to work".

The micro-chips enable bins to be weighed by the refuse lorry so the amount each household recycles and throws away can be assessed.

South Norfolk Council became the first in England to use the micro-chipped bins which it introduced in 2002 but scrapped the initiative following technology problems.

The Tory-run authority blamed a combination of electrical, data, mechanical and hydraulic faults.

Council leader John Fuller said: "A system that sounded good on paper in London failed to work at 7.30am on a cold and wet Monday in December in South Norfolk. It was time to bin the technology."

The council paid for the scheme using government grants of more than £1 million but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) stressed that it was not a pilot scheme and the council had chosen how to spend the grant.

"They were given Government grants to expand their recycling service and they choose with their own free will how to use it," a Defra spokeswoman said.

"If something doesn't work for a local authority, we think it's right for them to drop it. Systems don't work equally everywhere. They wanted to try it and they decided to stop it. That's their decision."

She added: "We haven't even passed the legislation to enable pilots to take place. The earliest pilots will start is April next year, after legislation is passed and authorities are asked to come forward."
Five pilot areas are in line be chosen for the scheme.
Read more on the article at MSN

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