Talking rubbish

Breakfast reporter Sarah Campbell reports on "pay-as-you-throw"

This week on Breakfast, we've been looking at Britain's growing mountain of rubbish.

On Wednesday, we brought you news of the spy-in-the bin - a microchip embedded in your dustbin which automatically weighs the amount of rubbish you produce.

On Thursday, we looked at a scheme to turn food waste into garden compost.

The aim behind both schemes is to reduce the amount of rubbish which gets dumped into landfill sites.

But, how much can individual families do to cut the amount of rubbish they produce?

Friday 6 October

Packaging creates a lot of extra rubbish

In our final report, we visited one family, the Halls of Harpenden.

They're keen on recycling, but they're amazed at how much packaging they have to throw away.

We also talked to green guru Penny Poyzer and Jane Bickerstaffe from the packaging industry.

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Thursday 5 October

Sarah Campbell looks at food recycling

We followed this story up on Thursday, Sarah Campbell looked at a scheme in Somerset where residents recycle left-over food.

It's placed in a small container, as in our picture, then emptied into a larger sealed bin.

The discarded food is then collected and mixed with green or garden waste where it breaks down and turns into compost

Watch Sarah Campbell's report on recycling food

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On Wednesday 4 October

Our reporter Sarah Campbell went to Lincolnshire, where she found that residents are not happy about the spy in their bin.

Local resident Brynley Heaven has removed the microchip from his wheelie and sent it back to the local council.

Local resident Brynley Heaven - he says a debate is needed

Brynley says that although he does recycle, he feels that the idea of paying for the amount of waste you produce by weight, would penalise families, who of course throw more away.

However Duncan Kerr from South Kesteven District Council said the microchip was not being used to process a "pay-as-you-throw" system, but was intended to reward people who are already recycling.

He said the system would enable the council to identify those who are throwing less away (and recycling more) and thank them.

But he added that the chip would also help the council to identify those who aren't recycling - though at the moment they are unable to fine them without further legislation.

The chip provides information about waste and recycled items.

Each bin is weighed before being emptied.

But as councils struggle to meet strict recycling targets, there are fears from some home owners, that it could eventually lead to them being charged according to how much they throw out.

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Penalties

Councils around the country face heavy financial penalties if they fail to meet recycling targets and put too much waste into landfill sites.

EU directives call for a 75% reduction - based on 1995 levels - in the amount of rubbish buried in landfill sites, by 2010.

The government translates that into a target, of recycling forty per cent of all household waste in the same time period - currently about 25% is recycled.

Under EU rules, after 2010, councils will be fined £150 for every ton of waste which they put into landfill - over the prescribed limit, according to the Local Government Association.