Hi-tech trash cans to dob in recycling slackers

New "smart" bins to be rolled out in Cleveland, Ohio, come with a special ID chip that lets council workers know how often they're left out for collection.

If a recycling cart hasn't been taken out for weeks, workers may decide to sort through the owner's trash to see if they're throwing out recyclables.

If they are, they could be slapped with a $US100 ($112) fine, according to local news website cleveland.com.

The council will spend an initial $US2.5 million ($2.8 million) to roll out the hi-tech trash carts to 25,000 households.

It then plans to bring them to another 25,000 households every year until all 150,000 residences in the council are covered.