Microchips installed in Croydon's new wheelie bins will not be used to spy on individual homes, according to the council.
Concerns about the technology's potential to check up on individual households were raised by Andrew Pelling, Conservative GLA member for Croydon and Sutton.
He said: "If, for example, computer hackers broke into the system, they could see sudden reductions in waste in specific households, suggesting the owners were on holiday and the house vacant."
Fears were also raised that the council was thinking of using the information to fine householders who produced too much waste to encourage more people to recycle.
But the council's new leader, Tony Newman, said the chips would be used to judge how much rubbish was being produced in the borough or on local housing estates, but not individual homes.
He said it was important the council was able to tell how much rubbish was being produced so it could budget for potential landfill charges from the Government.
The council aims to supply every suitable home in the borough with a wheelie bin by February 2006.
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