The British public would prefer the Government to encourage people to recycle more rather than penalise them for putting out too much rubbish, our survey has found.
- 63% of Brits would support councils’ use of incentives like spending vouchers to get people recycling more
- Compared to 33% who don’t agree with a rewards system
- 76% would oppose measures that would charge people according to how much rubbish they threw out
- Only 20% would support a charging system
Rubbish and rewards
Sixty eight councils across Britain have now introduced microchips in wheelie bins that measure the amount of rubbish or recycling thrown out.
Privacy campaigners such as Big Brother Watch maintain that the microchips are part of a ‘surveillance' state that aims to penalise its residents, but councils insist that instead of charging people for excess rubbish, the chips will be used instead to reward people for recycling more. A rewards system called Recycle Bank has already been rolled out in Windsor and Maidenhead, and includes rewards such as cinema vouchers, 2 for 1 theatre tickets and gift certificates for clothes.
