Incentives to boost rubbish recycling

Letter: I reply to the letter entitled "we should be paid for bin storage by council" by M James, on May 14.

The letter makes some sound points, and there are also messages for the public in general and recycling "militants" alike.

All councils should be mindful that as the public is required to recycle, it is to go in completely the wrong direction to make the domestic waste and recycling storage system unnecessarily complicated.

Because local authorities tend not to co-operate and share ideas, there exists a confusing multitude of waste and recycling storage methods.

Modern houses tend to have scant storage space for more than a certain number of boxes and bins and the postage stamp-sized gardens that they tend to come with, lack the space for any more than two bins and three boxes, which should be perfectly adequate, anyway.

I'm not saying that M James is anti-recycling or even moaning, but many people do try to find any reason to bemoan that they're being asked to do something, obviously sensible, simply because they're not being paid.

Having said this and on the back of what M James said, I think it would be a good idea if councils were to reward the public for recycling by reducing the council tax, were recycling rates to hit a certain level.

If a certain level of recycling saves the public coffers, then can the public not be given a share in return?

Simon Forrester, Wem