MICROCHIPS in wheelie bins supplied by a local council can tell officials how much green waste residents are putting out for recycling.

Brown bins for garden refuse incorporate the chips which were used to assess the popularity of the scheme during an initial Vale Royal Borough Council trial, but the system is not currently operational.

The issue of 'chips in bins' hit the national headlines this week after it was revealed councils could use similar technology to charge householders for the weight of non-recyclable rubbish collected, to en-courage recycling.

But Vale Royal, which has an excellent record with 40% of waste recycled, does not have chips in its green bins - for normal refuse - and no plans to use electronic tagging to monitor household waste.

When Vale Royal's chips were introduced, householders were informed they were being monitored through a newsletter and no complaints were received.

Nevertheless, not everybody may be aware the chips are still present in all brown bins and the system could be reactivated in future.

And the council has not ruled out the possibility of enforcement action against residents who produce waste, but do not recycle.

Labour Cllr Brian Lloyd (Frod-sham North), who was unaware of the chip in his bin, said: 'We should be open with people if we are to look at monitoring household waste.

'It's a bit Big Brother looking inside someone's bin but if it happens, it happens. We need to get recycling levelshigher.ButI thinkyouhaveto take people with you rather than getting their backs up.'

His Conservative colleague Cllr Tim Hill (Tarporley and Oulton) agreed transparency was the key.

Hesaid:'One ofthemainconcerns elsewhere was not the fact that it was being done, but that it was being done in a way that nobody knew it was happening.'

Cllr Hill said he was unaware of the chips in brown bins but comfortable with their existence given the technology was not being used.

A council spokesperson said: 'All of the council's brown-wheeled bins contain Radio Frequency Identification tags.These tagscanonlymonitor whether or not the bin has been emptied, a control that helps the council remain at the forefront of waste collections technology.

'The council currently has no plans to use tagging to monitor household waste. However, the council will be using an in-depth monitoring system to target households that continue not to recycle in order to raise awareness of recycling opportunities.'

* Chester City Council only uses wheelie bins for garden refuse and they are not fitted with chips. However, spokesman Mike McGivern said waste contracts would be reviewed in 2008 and having chipped bins was an option the council would have to consider.