Nearly 100 town halls ordered secret searches of their residents'
rubbish bins last year.
The official aim was to find out who was throwing out what to help
councils encourage recycling.
But some staff examining the contents of bins also classified residents
as well-off or poor.
In one area householders were divided into categories on the basis of their rubbish, ranging from Level One Wealthy Achiever to Level Five Hard Pressed.
The bin trawls, uncovered through Freedom of Information requests,
have been criticised as an invasion of privacy and a waste of effort.
One council chief said he strongly objected to the examination of
waste unless specific permission is obtained from the householder.
