MORAY Council will carry out spot checks on 5,000 households as part of a drive to shave half a million pounds off its bill for getting rid of rubbish.
The local authority says up to 40% of what families are throwing in their wheelie bins every week could be recycled.
And it has unveiled plans to send staff to people’s doors to give them advice on how to cut down on waste.
The council – which is trying to trim its spending by £20million over the next three years – believes it can slash the sum it pays in landfill tax if it can educate people to recycle more of their refuse.
It decided to act after a Zero Waste Scotland-funded study into the contents of people’s bins revealed how much rubbish was needlessly ending up in the dump.
The local authority has estimated that because of people’s failure to recycle properly it is paying £500,000 a year more in landfill tax than it needs to.
Councillors and officials believe the money could be better spent on vital services.
Heldon and Laich member John Cowe, who is chairman of the landfill tax sub-committee, said: “Each household in Moray produces an average of one tonne of waste each year.
“The council pays £80 in tax for every tonne that goes to landfill, so the arithmetic is straightforward.
“All that money could be better spent on frontline council services.
“While I am extremely grateful to everyone who plays a part in the recycling initiative, it is clear to me that the opportunity to recycle more remains a key objective.”
But Bob Hellyer, who runs Jay Cees Computer Centre in Forres High Street, has questioned the council’s credentials for lecturing others.
The businessman said: “The council charges companies £10.40 a month to take away the small bins it provides for waste paper.
“If it’s as concerned about the environment as it claims, why are businesses being charged at all? The service should be free.
“After all, the council makes money by selling the paper.
“I’d also question why the council needs to be spending our money to employ these ‘rubbish police’.
“All they will be doing is telling people what they already know.
“I’ve been in business in Forres for 25 years now and every year there’s more and more bureaucracy. This is just yet another example of that.”
The bulk of recyclable material wrongly put in the council’s green bins was food waste.
Smaller amounts of paper and cardboard, drinks cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles and jars were also found.
The council’s head of direct services, Stephen Cooper, underlined the local authority’s focus on diverting waste from landfill.
He said: “While many residents are recycling the right materials in the right containers, it is increasingly important that we encourage everyone to use these all the time.”
Landfill tax, which was introduced by the Westminster government in 1996, has increased dramatically during recent years.
In March 2011, it was increased from £56 to £64 per tonne, and has since gone up again to £80.
The recycling advisers visiting homes across Moray will all have identity badges and letters of authority showing they are working on behalf of the council.