“SMART bins” which automatically notify waste crews when they are full and need emptying could be unveiled in Basildon.

Labour leader Gavin Callaghan has revealed Basildon Council is looking at “investing” in new technology to prevent bins in public spaces and dog waste bins overflowing in the borough.

The smart bins would send a notification automatically to waste crews when bins are 20 per cent, 50 per cent, and 75 per cent full so they can be collected.

It comes as the Labour-led administration continue their mission to clean up Basildon and overhaul how bins are collected.

Mr Callaghan says there have been numerous complaints from residents over waste and dog waste bins not being emptied and overflowing, creating an unsightly mess in public spaces.

Speaking in a Facebook Live video, he said: “One of the things we are investing in as a council is essentially smart bins. It’s a chip in the bin that starts to tell us when it is getting filled.

“That’s going to go through something called in-cab technology.

“It will be able to alert the waste trucks so as soon as we know it is 75 per cent we can factor in going to collect the bin and empty it so we don’t end up in a situation where it’s on a rota and it might be full up after a week and then for a few weeks its sat there full.

“It’s not an immediate thing to be able to fix that, but by using the technology and getting our workers to use the technology we will be able to move quicker at getting some of this stuff done.”

It comes after it was revealed at a council meeting that a controversial waste collection process in the borough made Basildon “look like a disaster” movie and that it cost taxpayers £1.2million.

The figure was revealed as councillors debated how inappropriate recycling bags were chosen across the borough.

A consultation is currently ongoing on potential changes to bin collections, including re-introducing weekly black bin pick ups.