I don't understand people's resistance to the Chip-in-Bin scheme being developed as an idea to control landfill, reduce the throw-away society and increase propensity of households to recycle. The tabloid papers say it is a "spy in your bin" and that it erodes civil liberties. Nonsense! The chip is essentially an electronically encoded reference number. It could easily be a barcode, but probably isn't because a chip is more secure and resilient in the rough environment experienced by your average wheely-bin. It does not erode civil liberties, as it does not know what you have thrown away and it does not identify you as a person where data sensitivity is paramount - unlike the proposed ID card which seems to have gained more weight, possibly due to a reduced level of propoganda from the tabloids.

To me, there are three key benefits which people are not getting:

• If the scheme is truly fair, shouldn't the refuse handling portion of the council tax bill be reduced? Therefore, lower Council Tax
• Customers now have some control over how much they are charged, It isn't defined exclusively in the council chamber, it can be affected by your own habits. If you pay too much, think about reducing how much you throw away.
• We improve the environment by reducing our dependancy on landfill.

There are of course down-sides. People are averse to making extra effort to imrpove the lot of themselves and others, and especially when it costs, even though it should (in a fair world) be cheaper). The potential for fly-tipping would doubtless increase, for example, and no-one wants that.