Homes paid for every kilo of recyclable waste they put in correct bin

Ben Webster, Environment Editor
Rubbish is to be turned into a money-spinner for households in a trial starting today which may see humans join foxes in nightly raids on bins.
Almost 4,000 homes will be paid for every kilogram of recyclable waste that they place in the correct bin.
Rather than fining or lecturing people who do not recycle, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is taking the alternative approach of rewarding those who do.
The trial will test the theory, supported by research just published by Harvard University, that carrots are better than sticks when it comes to persuading people to behave in an environmentally-friendly way.
Microchips have been installed on wheelie bins distributed to 3,800 homes. The bins will be scanned and weighed automatically as they are emptied into refuse trucks. Householders will earn points which can be converted into vouchers redeemable at 60 local shops, cafés and attractions. Conscious of the risk of people raiding a neighbour’s recycling bin for bottles and newspapers, the council has placed a £130 cap on the amount a household can earn in a year.
Spot checks will be carried out to catch people who try to exploit the system by putting heavy non-recyclable items into their recycling bins. They will be sent a warning letter and, for repeated offences, could lose their entitlement to vouchers.
A similar trial will start in October in Runcorn and Widnes in Merseyside. Several London boroughs are also considering giving rewards for recycling, and the idea is likely to be taken up widely once the Government has tightened the rules on landfill.
The Times has learnt that Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, is planning to introduce a ban on sending food, aluminium, glass and wood to landfill sites. Waste disposal companies will face heavy penalties if they fail to separate those items from general waste and send them for recycling.
Authorities will come under much greater pressure to persuade homeowners to separate recyclable items. Last year 54 per cent of household waste in Britain went to landfill compared with only 1 per cent in Germany, which was one of the first countries to impose a landfill ban.
The landfill ban in England is likely to come into force in 2011 after a public consultation early next year.
The Windsor and Merseyside trials are being co-ordinated by RecycleBank, a US company which runs similar schemes covering a million homes in 19 states.
Matt Tucker, president of RecycleBank, said the weight of recyclable materials placed in the correct bin increased by 30-80 per cent when rewards were introduced. He predicted a handful of people would try to manipulate the system, but said experience showed the vast majority would respond positively. “People want to do the right thing for the environment— they just need a little nudge. Rewards are much more effective than fines, which are complicated and expensive to administer.”
Mr Tucker said that the next stage, already adopted in several US cities, would be to introduce rewards for reductions in the weight of material in the bin for non-recyclable waste.
Councils would weigh each household’s bin for several months and produce an individual target. In the US, rewards resulted in a 10 per cent cut in the weight of non-recyclables. Mr Tucker admitted there could be a problem with flytipping if people were rewarded for having a lighter bin. “There will always be some people who try to game the system, but the rewards will not be high enough to make it really worth it.”
Case study
Jeff Lloyd’s sons Jamie, 7, and Sam, 9, take great delight in telling him off every time he puts something which could be recycled in the general waste bin.
“They learn lots about recycling at school and it seems obvious to them but I sometimes forget,” said Mr Lloyd, 42, a financial adviser from Maidenhead.
“The promise of a free Marks & Spencer voucher would help me remember on those occasions when the kids aren’t around to wag the finger.”
Mr Lloyd’s family is one of the first to earn rewards for recycling. He can use a code to log on to the council’s website to check how many points he has accumulated. The family plans to save all its points to buy a special treat at Christmas. “The rewards are pretty modest but they don’t need to be high,” Mr Lloyd added. “All they need to do is jog our memory about something we feel we ought to be doing anyway.”
The council has put in safeguards to try to reassure people that it will not be checking how much they are recycling.
The allocation of vouchers is automatic and the information on weight can be accessed only by the householder.
But Mr Lloyd said he had no concerns about privacy. “I don’t care if the council knows how much I put in different bins but I would mind very much if they tried to fine me for it,” he said. “Rewards have got to be the way forward.”