VISITORS to my home from other UK regions and abroad have been surprised at our still limited scope for recycling.

Why is thick cardboard excluded when it can be recycled at local paper banks? Why include only certain types of plastic? Why not dry small batteries? Why not metal other than cans and foil? Why include green waste when this is the only element of household waste that is readily recycled at home?

I was very keen to have recycling introduced and was disappointed that Golden Cross Lane in Catshill was one of the last roads to join the scheme. Since it has been in place I have enthusiastically tackled garden jobs, such as pruning, that I was previously reluctant to do as the larger branches from tree and hedge pruning would have created the need for a trip to the dump. In turn this has increased my gardening activities generally, generating more waste than my composting facilities can cope with.

My response then has increased the volume that the council is dealing with and not merely diverted it from bin/dump to recycling collection. This increases the proportion of total waste recycled, artificially inflating the reported statistic that the council claims as a success. If the council dropped the green waste collection and replaced it with a shredding service for the larger branches and similar items the recycling statistic would be comparable with other regions in Worcestershire, none of which collect green waste.

I understand that the recently produced Labour group report on recycling in the area made this suggestion and also proposed that the existing green bin be used to collect not just the existing recyclables but also extend the scope of items collected. This would not introduce a third wheelie bin that some of your readers have feared but actually make it a more convenient service for many.

It would also significantly reduce the costs of the scheme to the council taxpayer. The current arrangement of sorting as the collection proceeds is obviously extremely labour intensive. This is for two reasons. Firstly several people all need to be present with the lorry to do the sorting. At the moment each time the lorry moves to and from the depot or between roads these workers are unoccupied. The current manual activity could be partially automated at a central depot and where it has to remain manual the sorters would be more continuously employed. Secondly the on board segregation and presence of the people reduces the available lorry capacity so that more frequent trips back to base are required than if all items were collected unsorted.

The current system has had many problems. Some of these will continue until the whole system is overhauled, but other issues could be addressed immediately. The boxes collect rainwater and need drying before refilling but they could be left upside down. Every week I come home to find my drive blocked by the wheelie bin, why can't the collectors leave it where I did, to the side of the drive? I don't believe the collection crews are trying to be difficult and give the system a bad name but they are certainly not helping to promote its benefits.

Martin Tingle

Golden Cross Lane

Catshill