Bradford Council chiefs have refused to sign up to a waste recycling scheme being rolled out across the country by a Shipley company.

Microchip technology, supplied by PM OnBoard, is designed to encourage householders to recycle more waste by recording the weight of wheelie-bin contents, leading to extra charges the heavier the load of rubbish being disposed of.

The scheme has so far been taken on by about 30 local authorities.

But Bradford Council has decided not to sign up to the scheme because it believes council tax payers could perceive it as a means to spy on them and that it could be open to abuse.

Today Geoff Mountain, chief executive of PM Group, said he was disappointed the Council was not taking the opportunity to use the equipment.

But the Council said there were practical' problems with the system.

Mr Mountain said when the scheme was implemented in Ireland it had been proved to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and incinerators by about 46 per cent.

The Telegraph & Argus has previously reported that the Council was in talks with PM Group about the possibility of implementing the scheme.

But Mr Mountain said no recent talks had been held and the Council had now rejected the company's offer.

He said: "Bradford Council was invited to use our technology because it's a proven fact that by using the weighing equipment immediately you can identify recyclers and reward them accordingly.

"Bradford has declined the offer to use the technology, and believe me they have been offered it.

"Of course I'm disappointed. It's a fact that the technology helps local authorities to increase recycling and reduce waste - we are the biggest supplier of this technology in the country and our local authority who have been offered equipment do not want it."

Mr Mountain said councils could save money by rewarding households who recycle and penalising those who do not.

Councils are under increasing pressure from government to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

As reported in yesterday's T&A, the Council is holding a major review of its entire waste policy as it draws up a long-term solution to dealing with ever-increasing amounts of refuse. Richard Wixey, the Council's head of environmental services, said: "The idea of chipping bins is something we have looked into and many councils are using it.

"There are practical issues we have with it as a method of monitoring waste, as people can easily swap bins or may decide to dump elsewhere to avoid paying extra. Also, some people have objections to the idea of being spied on.

"PM group is a local company and wherever possible we like to support local business."

e-mail: rebecca.wright @bradford.newsquest.co.uk

HOW CHIP-AND-BIN WORKS

The chip is fitted under the lip of the household's wheelie-bin.

When the bin is emptied it is weighed.

The chip contains an ID number which corresponds to the bin's household.

If the household has bins for recycling, the weight of recycled waste is deducted from the weight of general waste.

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