It is time to abandon failing bins system

Sir, I read with interest your article ‘Rubbish row rumbles on’ (The Oban Times, January 5).

The solution suggested for more and larger green bins fails to address the real problem. Unrecycled material means, in all cases, food waste, used sanitary products, used nappies and cat litter, and, in some cases, used incontinence pads and wound dressings. All plastic bins take on the ambient temperature and, in summer, are frequently hot to the touch. This makes them perfect incubators for germs, and these will be beside houses and play areas.

Increasing the size and number of bins is, I believe, a criminal abandoning of a public health duty. At the very least, the ‘clean’ bins with washed plastic and cardboard may be emptied every three weeks but the ‘dirty’ bins must be emptied fortnightly. A much better idea would be abandoning this schedule and reverting to the old weekly uplift. Robert H Davidson, Breadalbane Mews, Oban. Sir, Local councils maintain that cutting down on the number of rubbish bin uplifts is not about saving money but rather about encouraging recycling.

Having just returned from Auckland, New Zealand, I was impressed by the system they use in that country.

Both bins are lifted regularly (in this case weekly) but the general rubbish bin is between half and three quarters the size of the recycling bin.

This encourages everyone to try to recycle as much of their rubbish as possible. There is no complexity, no fuss and everyone is reasonably happy being involved in a manageable scheme. Alec Chasemore, Bruichladdich, Islay.