Across the UK pro-privacy groups are lashing out at city councils wanting to adopt the microchip wheelie bin system. A new report has surfaced warning the public that up to 2.6 million chips have already been installed in an effort to monitor households which are throwing out waste which could be recycled.
Supporters of the move to implant chips into wheelie bins are saying that the move will promote better recycling habits across the UK, however opponents of the tactic claim that its too Big Brother-esque, and they fear the government will use the microchips to punish those who do not recycle enough.
A pro-privacy advocacy group called Big Brother Watch made an enquiry using the Freedom of Information Act to discover that many of the councils have already installed the microchips into current wheelie bins but have yet to active them because they predicted they would meet with community backlash.
Dylan Sharpe, the campaign director for Big Brother said that the government is waiting to use them when the political climate begins to shift towards a more friendly attitude. Sharpe added that the chips represent another piece of surveillance being used to impose upon citizens daily lives.
He also pointed out that by charging with a “pay as you throw”, it will punish larger families who naturally generate more waste causing some households to turn to illegal dumping or burning to avoid paying extra.
Bristol City Council has just proposed a different kind of scheme which would reward households who recycle more with incentives rather than punish households which are generating too much waste. The programme in Bristol is voluntary not compulsory.
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