City of York Council's plans to reform waste collection deserves the full support of residents.

We can't carry on as we are, throwing away huge quantities of recyclable waste every year. We are using far more than our fair share of the Earth's resources and we will have to use resources more efficiently in future..

New landfill sites are in short supply and waste incinerators would be opposed by many people. We need a better solution to the problem of waste.

The council is heading in the right direction if it offers residents a waste collection scheme where a wide variety of waste is collected for recycling. It needs to ensure residents understand the reasons why everyone should recycle their waste and advise on ways in which they can reduce the amount generated. The problem of smells produced by food waste could be resolved by more frequent collection of decomposable waste during warm weather.

Recycling has many benefits including creating new jobs locally and will help to cut minerals and timber imports used in manufacturing, thereby reducing our impact on the rest of the planet. The council deserves our full support for its forward-thinking plans for dealing with the city's waste.

Guy Wallbanks,

Coordinator, York & Ryedale Friends of the Earth,

Kingsway West,

York.

Updated: 10:23 Friday, May 13, 2005