Many people will no doubt be relieved that Bradford Council has decided not to sign up to the microchip technology which monitors how much individual households put into their wheelie bins.

It is seen by some as yet another way for officialdom to spy on citizens - a step closer to the world of Big Brother.

But for those who are seriously concerned with the amount of waste we produce and whose job is to encourage us to produce less, these Shipley-made microchips are regarded as an important way of focusing the minds of the public.

Carrying with them the potential to penalise those who throw away too much (while perhaps rewarding those who throw away little), they are a way of encouraging people to recycle more.

There are some households who, with the best will in the world, find recycling difficult. They lack the space to store the number of bins required.

They perhaps haven't a car to take their newspapers, cans, plastic and bottles to a council tip or car-park recycling centre every few weeks, or the room to store these items in between.

Their problems need to be taken into consideration.

But generally, many people could recycle more than they do. While it is right that steps should be taken to persuade them to do so, manufacturers, retailers and supermarkets need to work harder at not producing excessive packaging in the first place.

Some have already made a commendable start but there is still a long way to go.