Bin Bugs

The Future of Waste Management or a Spy in our Bins

  
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Welcome to Bin Bugs




Welcome to binbugs.com this site contains information about so called 'bin bugs' or waste bin tagging. It discusses the technology involved, looks at the reasons motivating the introduction of the tagging, and peoples reactions to the tagging of bins.

The initial motivation comes from a European Directive which aims to reduce the adverse effects to society and the environment from the landfilling of waste.



Electronic Tagging

With the availability of electronic tagging, waste bins can be uniquely identified, this means that the weight of the content can be attributed to an individual bin. The waste being land filled can be monitored with a view to reducing the weight of waste being land filled to meet specified goals.
  • By 2010 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 75% of that produced in 1995
  • By 2013 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 50% of that produced in 1995
  • By 2020 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 35% of that produced in 1995

Mixed Reactions

People round the country have reacted in different ways to the electronic tagging and in some areas the tags have been removed and sent back to council offices. So that the waste management schemes can be introduced effectively the councils have to carefully communicate the process to households so that the concerns related to the RFID tag surveillance can be alleviated.

Bin Bugs

quick links
DEFRA - Strategy & Legislation: Legislation/Directives - EU Landfill Directive
IPPR - Institute for Public Policy Research, an independent charity, the UK’s leading independent progressive think tank.
sokymat - RFID Supplier
Holdfast Rubber Highway - A new use for old tyres.

definitions
Tag:  A tag or RFID tag is a small chip that will send a signal to a receiver. There are two types of tag; active tags which have there own power and send identification signals at regular intervals and passive tags which would need to be energised with a radio signal to be interrogated. The tag is more like a car number plate than a barcode because it uniquely identifies a specific item.
RFID or Radio Frequency Identification:  This is the technique used to identify a specific item using a signal sent from a label attached to the item.
Pay as you Throw: This is the concept of paying for rubbish disposal by weight rather than by a fixed regular fee.
Landfill Directive: The Landfill Directive was generated by the European Council on 26 April 1999 it is designated number 1999/31/EC. The directive requires Landfill sites to be classified as soon as possible but classification must be completed by July 2009. Additionally, the directive sets targets for the reduction of biodegradable municipal waste disposed of in landfill sites.

 
 
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