You could earn money, just by binning less rubbish in Bristol

Families and couples in Bristol could soon be earning money by reducing their rubbish.

The city council is hoping to pilot the first scheme in Britain which would reward people who meet their black bin waste target during the course of a year.

But a critic of the plan has warned that it could eventually become a stealth tax by charging people who throw away too much.

The idea is to microchip the black wheelie bins and weigh them before each time they are emptied.

The waste would be calculated in kilograms and worked out per person to take into account the number of people living in a household.

The results would be logged on a website and if a household's target was reached, then they would receive a cheque at the end of the year from the city council.

Talks are still in progress about the scheme and the exact amount that would be paid has still yet to be agreed. But council officials are hoping it could be as much as 50p a kilogram saved up to a maximum of £17.50 a person a year.

This means a couple or a family with two adults could receive a cheque for nearly £40 a year. A base weight would be calculated for each household's waste and incentive payments would be made for each kilo saved below this base figure.

Lib Dem Cabinet Councillor Gary Hopkins who is in charge of the council's waste department, said: "The proposed scheme, if it goes ahead, would be run as a pilot for six months in Bishopston, Cotham and Redland.

"The residents in the 2,362 properties in this area would be given the option to participate in the pilot scheme on a voluntary basis.

"These areas have been selected as they are currently not part of any other recycling pilots in the city, and because there is a good mixture of types of properties and residents.

"The scheme will encourage residents to think about what they are throwing away and act as a thank you to those who help us by reducing their waste.

"It will be completely voluntary, so people only sign up to it if they want to take part.

"There will be no penalty for participants who don't manage to reduce their waste, and our officers will obviously be able to give them advice on how to reduce and recycle further."

Council officials will be meeting with representatives from the Government department, Defra, in London on Monday to discuss the scheme and secure funding.

Mr Hopkins said: "With a new waste contract due to begin in 2011, we are keen to proceed with this scheme quickly as the pilot will help us and potential contractors work out how a wider voluntary scheme could fit into the contract.

"It is the first reward scheme of its kind in the UK and we believe that, with financial backing from the government, Bristol is the right place to make it a success.

But Charlie Brinkley, from Frampton Cotterell, who runs his own bin-cleaning business in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, said: "They are not going to give you money for nothing – they are just not going to do that.

"My fear is that this will become another stealth tax with people being charged if they go too far above their targets."

He said the scheme was also open to abuse by people throwing their rubbish in other people's bins or rubbish not being tipped out properly which will give false readings.

He said that even the weights of the bins change, according to their make or rubbish gets stuck in the bottom of bins.

Bristol's only Green Councillor Charlie Bolton and the Bristol Friends of the Earth both welcomed the scheme, saying anything which gives people an incentive to reduce their waste should be given a trial.

Mr Hopkins said: "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.

"Even more importantly, we are committed to reducing the amount of waste going to landfill which, as well as having major environmental benefits, will save Bristol tax payers millions. Bristol residents have already helped us reduce the amount of waste we generate.

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

"We've saved even more thanks to residents who now recycle nearly 40 per cent of their waste, compared to just 12 per cent five years ago. This year, people in Bristol recycled nearly 4,000 tonnes more than last year."

Householders in Bristol have a black bin for their rubbish, a black box for their dry recycling such as cans, newspapers and bottles and a brown caddy for food waste. They can also buy a green wheelie bin or sack for garden cuttings.