Bradford Council's plans to recycle householders' waste food have been backed by Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw.

The Council's head of environmental services, Richard Wixey, exclusively revealed to the Telegraph & Argus that a pilot scheme to collect food waste separately during refuse collections would start this year.

Working with the Bradford Organic Collection Service, the scheme will test the feasibility of using the waste as it bio-degrades, as opposed to sending it to landfill.

The Council made the announcement the day the Government unveiled its latest strategy to reduce waste consumption in the UK.

The new plans dramatically increase Whitehall targets for recycling, demanding that a minimum of 40 per cent of household waste is recycled or composted by 2010, rising to half by 2020.

Mr Bradshaw said: "I congratulate Bradford for choosing to go down this route.

"There are 15 local authorities which conduct separate food waste collections and we would welcome the practices providing they are planned out properly."

Rubbish sent to landfill is a major source of methane, a destructive greenhouse gas and a significant contributor to climate change.

Mr Bradshaw also supported Council plans to incinerate biodegradable waste as a means of generating energy.

Bosses are currently tendering for a private contractor to handle the district's waste. Mr Wixey said that it would provide an incentive to bidders who planned to create energy from waste.

The Government yesterday announced plans to lift the ban on councils charging householders who do not recycle and reward those who do with cash. Such schemes will have to return all revenue to local residents.

The controversial move has led many to speculate that so called "spy chips" - barcodes which identify which household a bin belongs to - are to be introduced nationwide.

But Mr Wixey said no bins in Bradford have the technology and such measures would be a last resort.

He said: "Chips in bins can be combined with other technologies to tell how much waste is being reused and recycled. We have not used chips because we have found out that information simply by observing waste habits on an informal base." He said Bradford refuse collectors are told to check recycling bins periodically to ensure they are not filled with non-recycleable waste. Misusers are advised on correct practice.

Householders could also be offered lockable wheelie bins to stop neighbours dumping their waste in them to avoid the "pay-as-you-throw" rubbish charges.

The consultation paper says: "It will be important to consider means for preventing evasion of the incentive by disposing of waste in others' bins. Options include using pre-paid sacks or bins or offering lockable wheelie-bins."

Examples in the White Paper include weighing bins and charging householders 10p for every kilogram sent to landfill.

Residents would get a cash rebate at the end of the year for meeting targets, so those who sent little waste would save cash while those who sent a lot will pay extra.

Environment Secretary David Miliband said: "We do not believe a new tax-raising power for local authorities is the right way forward."

But after calls from the Local Government Association, he said, a public consultation was beginning on proposals to allow "revenue-neutral" financial schemes to reduce and recycle waste.

He added: "Local authorities will be able to decide whether or not to develop schemes that reward in cash people who reduce waste and recycle at the expense of those who don't."

Overall, councils will not be able to make a profit from any incentive scheme.