Microchips inserted into the new bins in Croydon (S.London) may be adapted so that the council can judge whether residents are producing too much rubbish.

If they are, they may be visited by officials bearing advice on how they might “manage their rubbish more effectively”.

In the shorter term the microchips will be used to determine how many bins the refuse collectors have emptied and how many have been missed.

While the move will be welcomed by environmentalists, Andrew Pelling, the Conservative who represents the area on the London assembly, has been quoted as saying: “The Stasi or the KGB could never have dreamed of getting a spying device in every household.”

He believes the technology might yield information which could be misused.

“If, for example, computer hackers broke in to the system, they could see sudden reductions in waste in specific households, suggesting the owners were on holiday and the house vacant.”

Via The Guardian.

Related: tags on trash.