NOW that we have a new council can we please have some clear thinking on household waste management?

The machine is now available to sort out allhousehold refuse. This means no more household sorting which uses valuable time and energy as well as taking the materials to recycling sites.

I believe that the last council was overwhelmed by the problem and in order to try to appear efficient, managers adopted policies that were anything but efficient.

Carting and collecting compostable waste to Staunton was an expensive no brainer. Encouraging people to take various materials to recycling sites was also misguided. Numerous journeys made by people in cars puts carbon into the atmosphere with the added journeys and machines used to empty the containers. Then we have the rest of the waste taken all the way to Gloucester to the landfill site where the council have to pay a landfill tax.

I appreciate present contracts with Biffa have some time to run. This time should be used to adopt a new policy. No more costly surveys are needed. They are just another way of appearing to do something.

Councillors, please start acting in a professional way. Each of you, not just the cabinet use your computers you are given by ratepayers and research the subject and then put questions to the cabinet so they will have to do something. There is a lot of money to be saved which might endear you to some ratepayers but if not you will have the personal satisfaction of knowing that you have helped the community.

One more thing. Consider this. Your former colleague, George Read, made a good living by collecting and disposing of commercial waste and was well respected for it. The council should accept commercial waste without charge. It is more valuable than house­hold refuse and would make the collecting and sorting of all waste cheaper by economies of scale.

– John Timbrell.