Software saving cash and sparing the landscape

Bartec Systems, which is based in Barnsley, helped Harrow council to win a local government award after it began using the firm's Waste Collector system.

The software works through a small electronic device which bin wagon drivers use to store details about particular properties, such as which are entitled to extra bins or whose inhabitants need help with their collection because they are disabled or infirm.

It also tackles the common problem of binmen missing out houses or businesses on their round, either because of human error or because the road is blocked, which costs councils about 50 per property, according to Tim Hobbs, a director of Bartec. Workers are obliged to return to pick up the refuse if a householder has put it in the right place.

Mr Hobbs said Bartec hopes to grow more because there could be demand for its services across the country.

"It is a niche industry. There are about 400 local authorities and more in Ireland with each running a fleet of bin wagons.

"The industry is developing quite quickly because of the way waste is handled. People used to put one bin out at their back gate. Now they have a more complex system to run.

"There are more inquiries and more interactions with the public. Waste has become a political issue. It is one of the most frontline of councils' services".

The system will cut the amount of waste sent to landfill by 18.8 per cent over 10 years – equivalent to 9,400 tonnes – and a 15 per cent reduction in fuel costs, including 11,000 in the first year, by sending binmen on more efficient rounds.

It can also identify the "small minority" of householders who illicitly re-fill their rubbish bin after it has been taken away and then claim it was not picked up initially.

The firm's technology is used in 300 wagons in 20 local authorities in Britain at the moment. Bin workers have a touch-screen computer providing messages about the street they are in, which works in a similar way to a TomTom, the sat-nav device, and are linked in to one system, Mr Hobbs said. It also records which bins have not been put out.

"Having a slip of paper in the cab does not give an efficient service," Mr Hobbs added.

Bartec's work with Harrow helped the authority to win the prize for innovation in strategy at a local level at the e-Government National Awards.

The firm has also worked with Chichester District Council, Sedgefield Borough Council in Northumbria and Rushcliffe Borough Council, in Nottinghamshire, where it said the system cut by 60 per cent the number of bins missed.

Bartec Systems

Bartec Systems, which was set up in 1992, is part of Bartec Auto ID. The firm, which turns over 5m, won a Queen's Award for international trade in 2005.

The group, which has 35 staff, is split with the other arm making tyre pressure monitoring systems, which

it has installed at car manufacturers including Ford, Chrysler, General Motors and BMW.

Bartec Auto ID also has a subsidiary which sells the tyre equipment in the US and is based in Detroit. The principal shareholder of Bartec Auto ID is Colin Webb.