I daresay if you balanced an old mattress or something on top or had something substantial protruding from under the lid they would very likely see it and be in like big hungry dogs trumping up some litter or tipping charge.

Might be that the only alternatives would be to apply to the council in writing - preferably in triplicate as the chances of the first copy going missing are probably high. Another possibility is a note on the green bin promising a 24 pack of lager at Christmas with a 6 pack sitting on the note. Time it right and you will likely see the tyres smoking as the truck comes to a shuddering halt, reverses up the road for a closer inspection, someone leaps out and takes the 6 pack leaving the invisible green bin because they have had no instructions to pick it up and of course, no one said anything about not stopping to retrieve a lost 6 pack of lager.