Do it properly - or not at all

LIKE Don Drew, I am totally frustrated by the lip service paid by ECDC and, indeed, the UK to refuse recycling. Three weeks ago, after a particularly rainy period, my husband and I had four brown bags of garden and other recyclable rubbish to put out. O

LIKE Don Drew, I am totally frustrated by the lip service paid by ECDC and, indeed, the UK to refuse recycling.

Three weeks ago, after a particularly rainy period, my husband and I had four brown bags of garden and other recyclable rubbish to put out.

On the way to the end of our drive, the bottom fell out of one bag as it had become so wet, having waited nearly two weeks for the next collection.

The rubbish was duly rebagged and the bottomless bag left out with the four full bags for collection.

This was the day when no bags were distributed. Needless to say, the full bags were collected but the other bottomless bag was left on our drive.

This day was also the day when there was a full page advertisement in the local press extolling the virtues of recycling!

Not having received any bags that week, this week we put out our last remaining brown bag. When the refuse collectors came I was at home and asked for some additional bags.

I was told they are not allowed to give out extra bags (even though we had none on the previous collection) and we must ring the office.

This method of so-called recycling is laughable. A few miles up the road in Fenland my mother has three wheelie bins provided - one for garden, one for other recyclable rubbish and one for other household rubbish. The bottom doesn't fall out of them when they get wet. Earlier this year, we visited our son in Brisbane. They also have wheelie bins, one for household rubbish and one for all recyclable. The bins are collected by one man driving a lorry, which picks up each bin in turn and tips it into the appropriate section of the lorry.

There are no lorry followers, chucking plastic and paper bags onto residents' drives, who may be lucky enough to find them there if they have not blown away by the time they arrive home from work.

OK, so we can recycle our plastic bottles by taking them to the bottle bank. What about the tops we have to remove, the bottles without the magic numbers 1, 2 or 3 on the bottom?

What about the plastic food containers or the plastic our mail arrives in - where do we dispose of these? We either do it properly or not at all.

V SEYMOUR, Althorpe Court, Ely