I AM writing in reference to your article on alternate ways to collect waste (Ely Standard, March 22, 2007). During the scheme to collect household waste and recycle on alternate weeks, the district council seem to have lost more than five tonnes of waste

I AM writing in reference to your article on alternate ways to collect waste (Ely Standard, March 22, 2007). During the scheme to collect household waste and recycle on alternate weeks, the district council seem to have lost more than five tonnes of waste within the two weeks (31.32 tonnes of waste a fortnight before the trial/between 25.36 and 26.26 during the trial).

If the council's figures are to hold up, I presume households in Bottisham, Lode and Longmeadow have created the same amount of waste over the trial period.

Seeing as the bin fairies only collect every other week, I guess the five tonnes of waste must have walked to another landfill site. Will the people of Bottisham, Lode and Longmeadow be getting a Council Tax rebate due to the money the council would have saved by only sending the dustcart out fortnightly? Maybe they could use the money to ferry that missing five tonnes of garbage to the tip.

Also, if the people of Ely want plastic milk bottles to build a bridge across the River Ouse, they only have to go along to any of Ely's inadequate recycling centres to see them spilling onto the road. Any chance the council could collect plastic bottles from our doorstep, fortnightly or otherwise?

MARTIN HINE

Ely

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