Not really, Meridian. There is extra time and cost involved to everyone in this hare-brained, ill-thought out scheme. For a start our weekly rubbish (garbage) collections are going to be put back to every two weeks. Great. We'll be plagued by rats and mice not to mention flies and maggots and the stench. Even with weekly collections we had a hot summer last year and the stench of rotting trash was disgusting. We pay Council Tax to cover the cost of refuse collection (among other things). This year the tax was increased yet again but we're now only going to get half the service.

They're bringing in new recycling boxes for plastic bottles - but they are telling us we'll have to wash the bottles out. That means WE, the taxpayer have to fork out more cash to cover the cost of more water used and the cost of detergent plus the time taken to wash out said bottles. There's no mention of cans being recycled - yet. If they do, you have to wash them out and remove the labels too so yes, there is extra cost and extra time involved.

We've been recycling cardboard and paper for some time now. Fine, but very often the men who collect and empty the recycling boxes drop half of it on the pavement. Do they pick up what they've dropped? No, so our street ends up looking like a bomb has struck it

We have a recycling plant approximately 8 miles from where we live. Go there any evening or weekend and you will sit in a queue of cars. That's more fuel used to get there plus sitting in a slow moving queue with the engines running. Not exactly environmentally friendly!

The ones that should be targetted are the big businesses that insist on putting so much plastic wrapping on things. I bought a packet of biscuits (cookies) tonight. Trying to get into the packet was harder than trying to break into Fort Knox because there was so much plastic wrapping on them. I succeeded - eventually.

I am in favour of recycling, but the way they are going about it in this country is going to deter people, not encourage them.

And yes, I do agree that many people are just too lazy nowadays.