'Spy Chips' Hidden In 2.6 Million Trashbins Aim To Tax Those Who Toss Too Much

[Judi Lynn]

'Spy Chips' Hidden In 2.6 Million Trashbins Aim To Tax Those Who Toss Too Much
GREGORY KATZ | 03/ 5/10 02:02 PM

LONDON — It's the new front in the nanny state: Microchips placed in garbage bins to monitor how much people throw away.

A pro-privacy group warns in a new report that more than 2.6 million of the chips have been surreptitiously installed in what is seen as a first step toward charging those who toss too much.

Proponents say it's a bid to push recycling. Opponents say it stinks.

"They should mind their own business," said Terry Williams, an unemployed Londoner who thinks the government is meddling. "I believe they have gone too far. It's not like we are throwing away anything that is illegal."

The advocacy group Big Brother Watch found through a series of Freedom of Information requests that many local governments, called councils in Britain, are installing the microchips in trash cans distributed to households, but in most cases have not yet activated them – in part because officials know the move would be unpopular.

"They are waiting for the political climate to change before they start using them," said campaign director Dylan Sharpe, who predicted that families that produce large amounts of garbage would be fined.

The trash microchips are now part of the British information grid, which already includes a heavy reliance on closed-circuit television surveillance and cameras to monitor the population, particularly on the crowded public transportation system.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/06/spy-chips-hidden-in-26-mi_n_488801.html

[cloudbase]

1. Tell 'em to

toss off.

[Lyric]

2. So when are they going to start fining companies for over-packaging products

and creating the situation in the first place? That seems fairer than punishing the average people who have no choice but to buy whatever packaging their needed product comes in.

[iris27]

4. +10000 n/t

[Canuckistanian]

6. +1

No kidding. I always look to see what's using up all of my garbage bag space when I throw it out.

It's mostly PLASTIC. Bulky product containers, styrofoam meat packaging and lots of plastic wrap and bags. We could easily cut down our garbage production by half if it weren't for all the bloody unrecylable PLASTIC.

[Canuckistanian]

3. This is all kinds of stupid

First off, this technology costs money. Millions of electronic devices in trashcans? How much does that cost?

Secondly, it's the VOLUME of trash that's the problem, not it's weight or even the number of times you dump something.

Thirdly, is THIS worth all the effort in order to save money? Does it REALLY save costs?

Who's the Einstein who dreamed up this Orwellian nightmare?

[dysfunctional press]

5. seems to me that something like that would be easy to damage/break into uselessness...

'accidentally', of course. trash bins can tend to get knocked around a little.

[flvegan]

7. From the land of the "congestion charge"

This doesn't shock me at all.

[FreakinDJ]

8. They actually spent money on this shit

[Oregone]

9. Fuck it. On second thought, Im just going to throw this on the ground.

[DJ13]

10. Thats the dumbest thing I've ever read

The way around it is to litter.

Would the city prefer that?

[Quantess]

11. Good point. (no text)

[Taitertots]

12. Is it time to make 1984 references yet?

But really, what do you expect from a surveillance state.


"It's voluntary, not compulsory," you just have to pay a fine, unless you volunteer to activate it.

[IDemo]

13. Our recycle bins have been chipped since last year

RFID'd bins are more than likely coming to a curb near you soon.

Today, RecycleBank serves over one million people in 20 states across the United States, and that number continues to increase every week. We will launch our service in Europe this summer. To date, the material recycled by the households we service has enabled RecycleBank to save cities tens of millions of dollars annually in landfill disposal fees, save over 1.5 million trees, and save millions of gallons of oil. - Recycle Bank CEO Ron Gonen

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. The linked site reveals more disturbing details, actually.

At the bottom of the Huff Po piece is a link to a Big Brother Watch report ( pdf)
wherein it shows the city councils have sent "hooded men" out to go thru people's trash bins.
Unannounced, with no ID, yet. In Lancashire, this happened twice a year.!

Apparently this is all under Britain's re-cycle law idea. People can be fined up to 1,000 pounds for putting
the "wrong" stuff in the wrong bin!

Man, Britain has truly become a police state. Ironic that Orwell was British.

[Feron]

15. So if you have a grudge against someone..

dump your refuse into their can!

Britain is definitely a pioneer for an Orwellian society.