Electronic spies in our wheelies
IMPLEMENTING a ‘pay as you throw’ system would require electronic chips being installed in tens of millions of black bins.
Waste collection lorries would be equipped with electronic devices to ‘read’ each bin and weigh their contents.
The weight of the rubbish would then be charged to householders’ accounts. Other options include a flat annual fee, charges related to the number of bags, or charges related to the frequency of collections.
Similar schemes are already in place in Europe. In Ireland, households can choose from a range private collection firms, which offer a variety of tariffs. McGraths in County Mayo, for example, offers a £309 annual charge for an allowance of 950kg in general waste collections. Any excess weight is charged at 16.5p per kilogram.
In Berlin, residual waste collections cost between £ 8 for a 60 litre bin to £227 for a 1,100 litre bin – paid quarterly if collected once a week. Bio-waste bin collections are up to three times cheaper and all recyclables are taken free of charge.
In Budapest, residents can select how often they want their collections as well from up to five different bin sizes and are charged accordingly.