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Radical, but effective

I noticed a plea from our dear leader, Councillor David Renard (EA 14/9) to do more about recycling.

Whilst this is a welcome intervention, it is actually pretty obvious visually which houses recycle and which don’t. The clue is in the overflowing wheel bin, sometimes two, and no recycling boxes anywhere in sight!

If David or anyone else thinks that people who I see regularly evacuate McDonald’s cups and wrappings from passing cars will have any interest in religiously sorting paper, tins, and plastic waste each from the other, then I’m afraid it really is cloud cuckoo land thinking.

It was even suggested that mixed recyclable and landfill waste might remain uncollected. So this family X bins are overflowing with mixed waste and are left uncollected. No big prizes for predicting where the next two weeks black bags may be found.

Sorry David, you need to think this through, even if your guys on the ground were in any way motivated to go through black bins before up-tipping them. Every bin would need to be marked with the street and house number, as behind my home for example, dustbin day sees at least 12 adjacent properties put all receptacles in one single area.

To make serious progress a ‘carrot and stick’ approach is required and the secret is to make it easy. Abandon roadside sorting which is expensive and deposits, in my experience, about 8% of street litter in North Swindon on windy days. Make it easy. Move to two wheel bins only, a landfill (or incineration in our case) and one single recycling bin as many boroughs already do. The money saved in terms of time expended on the roadside could be more efficiently used by sorting on conveyors in the warehouse.

Now the stick. If there is compelling photographic evidence of a failure to recycle then a £20 “sorting fee” would be added to that month’s council tax bill for that property. Evidence could be as simple as no recycling bin to match with the house black bin, as it is inconceivable over two weeks no recycling at all would accrue.

Radical yes, but beautifully effective. A dozen or so well-publicised cases, pictures of long faced, hapless individuals complaining bitterly on the pages of this very organ, and watch the recycling rates soar.

John Stooke, Haydon End, Swindon

Brexit means chaos

Following the 2016 Referendum, that was legally only advisory and non-binding, Theresa May said that “Brexit means Brexit”. No one know what she meant or what Brexit meant. Now we know that Brexit means chaos and disruption on an unprecedented scale, as shown in the recent Government assessments plus the statements from industrial leaders and the Governor of the Bank of England.

The Leave campaign is illegal based on distorted information and lies and with suspect funding.

Remaining in the Customs Union is the least bad option and is vitally necessary for the economy and jobs. Better still would be to hold a second referendum now that the unarguable consequences are there for all to see.

Tony Mayer, Haydon Wick, Swindon

Here’s your answer

Re A Dangerous Place (Peter Smith Adver 15/10/18). Peter Smith says, ‘It’s rich for him to complain about what he sees as personal abuse when his letters always (?) intrinsically insult anyone he sees as different.’ Which letter(s) are you refering to Mr Smith?

Re Time for answers (Martin Webb Adver 15/10/18). Koran-thumping Mr Webb says ‘Finally Mr Adams, your refusal to condemn the child abuse in the church is, to put it mildly, shameful of you.’ This cheap ploy really hits the depths, worthy of a Donald Trump moment itself.

Instead of offering a presentable debate he sinks lower because he knows he’s simply incapable of presenting one in this instance; how else to explain it?

A comparison would be me chastising Mr Webb for not writing to the Adver’s Letters’ page when a refugee has raped and murdered a Brit, and condemning the act. And then when he refuses I repeat his cheap ploy: ‘Finally Mr Webb, your refusal to condemn refugees who arrive here and then rape and murder is shameful of you.’

Little wonder Des Morgan recently demolished Mr Webb’s rantings on the same subject!

Can we take Martin Webb seriously anymore?

Jeff Adams, Bloomsbury, Swindon