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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Councils begin 'pay as you throw' | Councils begin 'pay as you throw' |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| More than 30 councils are fitting microchips to wheelie bins to work out how much households are throwing away. | More than 30 councils are fitting microchips to wheelie bins to work out how much households are throwing away. |
| It is the latest attempt to encourage more recycling to curb the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfill. | It is the latest attempt to encourage more recycling to curb the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfill. |
| The chips would weigh the contents of the bin to within 500grams. | The chips would weigh the contents of the bin to within 500grams. |
| The Local Government Association is expected later this year to propose councils be given greater powers to change the way people remove rubbish. | The Local Government Association is expected later this year to propose councils be given greater powers to change the way people remove rubbish. |
| They are in favour of a pay as you weigh system, but Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA's Environment Board, appreciates that certain councils have taken the wrong approach. | |
| "Any council that's issued chipped bins and hasn't informed their residents I would say has scored something of an own goal. We need to work with the public and it's sad that seemingly some councils didn't," he said. | |
| Chipped bins could record the date, time, bin identification serial number and the weight and the contents of the container. | Chipped bins could record the date, time, bin identification serial number and the weight and the contents of the container. |
| Once weighed, a bill for the waste would then be sent to the owner. | Once weighed, a bill for the waste would then be sent to the owner. |
| Tough fines | Tough fines |
| With an estimated nine years of land fill space left, councils up and down the UK are faced with a tough decision about what to do with Britain's waste. | With an estimated nine years of land fill space left, councils up and down the UK are faced with a tough decision about what to do with Britain's waste. |
| Simply burying rubbish in the ground is no longer an option. | Simply burying rubbish in the ground is no longer an option. |
| Local authorities now face tough fines from the Government on what they do bury, to force greater levels of recycling. | Local authorities now face tough fines from the Government on what they do bury, to force greater levels of recycling. |
| Each council has introduced different recycling systems to encourage householders to separate out their waste and put less in their main bin. | Each council has introduced different recycling systems to encourage householders to separate out their waste and put less in their main bin. |
| But in some areas recycling is now compulsory, meaning if people do not comply, rubbish will not be cleared away and they could face prosecution. | But in some areas recycling is now compulsory, meaning if people do not comply, rubbish will not be cleared away and they could face prosecution. |
| Alternate weekly collections are one way of tackling the problem but they have not been warmly welcomed by residents. | Alternate weekly collections are one way of tackling the problem but they have not been warmly welcomed by residents. |
| Claire Harvey, from New Holland in North Lincolnshire, faces a weekly struggle to get rid of her waste. | |
| "The council only actually recycle newspapers, glass and tins," she said. | |
| "The plastics and the cardboard you have to dispose of yourself. They have provided a system, but they need to collect the domestic waste more frequently." | |
| Paul Bettison believes that if people want to keep weekly collections of all household waste they will have to face the reality that it is going to cost them. | Paul Bettison believes that if people want to keep weekly collections of all household waste they will have to face the reality that it is going to cost them. |
| "You are paying for a collection every week and that is what you are still getting," he said. | "You are paying for a collection every week and that is what you are still getting," he said. |
| "And now if you wanted us to collect both bins each week that would mean doubling the number of collections and that's fine and actually that would add approximately £100 a year to your council tax. | "And now if you wanted us to collect both bins each week that would mean doubling the number of collections and that's fine and actually that would add approximately £100 a year to your council tax. |
| "There may be people who wouldn't want to pay that." | "There may be people who wouldn't want to pay that." |