COUNCILLORS say they are being bombarded with calls from concerned residents who have found microchips in their new wheelie bins.

Malvern Hills District Council has started delivering thousands of green wheelie bins for collecting recycling.

The council says the microchips contain a serial number and are to keep track of the bins.

But their discovery has left residents fearing they could be used to keep track on what waste is in the bins and lead to fines if used incorrectly.

Coun Clive Smith, who represents Malvern Link, called the use of microchips “a very sinister move”. He said he had received about 40 phonecalls and e-mails about it.

“The official answer we have been given is it is in case they get stolen,” he said.

“But I think it is a very sinister move and really question why you would bother.

“They all have the council’s name written on the side so what is the point of microchipping them?

“We didn’t know they were going to be chipped and only found out when they started arriving on people’s drives. I am not convinced by the explanation at all and do fear monitoring and fines could easily be introduced.”

West Malvern councillor Julian Roskams said he was aware of the concerns and had sought an explanation, but is satisfied the council’s answers have “a ring of truth” about them.

“Given the aim of introducing the bins is to improve recycling rates, there seems to be no logic in penalising householders for overusing the bins,” he said.

About a third of wheelie bins in neighbouring Worcester City Council are microchipped – but these are only the stock delivered between 2005 and 2007, when the city first started to receive bins and there was talk of the Government asking local councils to weigh or measure the amount of domestic refuse collected.

Head of community services, Ivor Pumfrey, said the chips, which cost 60p, will improve service by making it easier to deal with missed collections and requests for repairs or replacements.

He said: “Each chip contains only a unique serial number which cannot be changed or added to.

“There is no other information on it. We have absolutely no intention of monitoring customers or penalising then in any way for putting the wrong things in their recycling bins or if they are too heavy.

“Our collection crews will continue to advise customers in the same way they do now on the few occasions they find contaminated recycling being put out for collection.

“We have received a small number of customer enquiries about identification chips.

“When we have explained what they are for everyone has been content.”