'Chip and bin' waste scheme for Bristol waiting for approval from Defra

A pioneering pilot scheme that would reward people for producing less rubbish could be given Government backing within weeks.

Bristol City Council put the "chip and bin" plans before the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for a funding decision yesterday.

If the voluntary scheme is approved, Bristol would be the first authority in the country to adopt it.

Black wheelie bins would be microchipped and weighed, with cash incentives for producing less waste.

Liberal Democrat councillor Gary Hopkins travelled to London with a team of officers to put the plans before the Government department.

Mr Hopkins, in charge of the council's waste department, said the meeting was "positive".

The proposal is aimed at cutting household waste and increasing recycling rates.

It would be trialled over a six-month period in 2,362 homes in Bishopston, Cotham and Redland.

The microchips would identify which house the bins belong to, and how many people live in the household.

If residents meet their waste cutting targets, they would receive a cheque at the end of the year from the council. Payments would be 50p for each kilogram not put in the bins, with payments capped at £17.50 per person per year.

Those who fail to meet the target would not be charged.

Mr Hopkins said: "We presented the bid for funding for this pilot and the panel of experts from Defra seemed very positive.

"At no time did they outline any area of concern, and we were given no reason to be other than very positive that our bid will be accepted.

"Bristol already has a first-class reputation for waste reduction and recycling, and we have set ourselves an ambitious target to recycle 50 per cent of all our waste by the end of this year.

"This year we are predicting our waste to be nearly 23,000 tonnes less than in 2004/05, saving £4 million of public money."

But Dan Norris, Labour MP for Wansdyke and Parliamentary Under Secretary for State for Defra, has called the scheme "naive and somewhat flawed".

And Bristol's Conservative councillors are angry that the pilot programme has been sprung on the public without full consultation.

Councillor Siobhan Kennedy-Hall said: "Opposition members were not aware of this proposal.

"Having learned some of the details surrounding it, we are concerned that this scheme could be used as a 'Trojan horse' to introduce 'pay-as-you-throw' later down the line.

"Incentives and rewards are the way forward in boosting our recycling rates, but this particular variant is wide open to abuse.

"It will encourage fly-tipping, the dumping of rubbish in neighbours' bins and all manner of subterfuge in order to claim a cash bonus."

Defra will now consider the impacts on residents and the environment before making its recommendations to Hilary Benn, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, who will have the final decision.

Defra spokeswoman Liz Fairweather said: "We appreciate all the hard work the council has put into developing its waste incentive scheme, which was presented to the project board yesterday.

"The secretary of state's decision will be announced as soon as possible after he has received the board's recommendations, and we expect this to be within the next few weeks."