It is good to see that kerbside recycling has started for some of us although I know that the black boxes are a problem for some people.

Friends of the Earth wrote the Recycling Bill which calls for every local authority to provide a doorstep recycling collection service to every household by 2010. This Bill was adopted by Joan Ruddock MP, who worked hard with FoE to get the bill adopted by Parliament and is supported by a number of local authorities and organisations. Only 12 per cent of a possible 60 per cent of household rubbish is recycled or composted; we are running out of landfill sites where disposal creates its own pollution problems while incinerators are responsible for producing toxic emissions. Recycling also reduces the demand for raw materials.

The Recycling Bill aims for other recyclable materials such as plastics to be collected once a system is

established as well as for households to be provided with facilities to

compost biodegradable waste either at home or through a collection for a central composting facility.

Already Wiltshire County Council reckons that the participation levels are higher than the national average and it may be that this will help to

encourage it to set a higher recycling target than its 33 per cent.

J Ripley

Devizes & Marlborough Friends of the Earth