I AGREE with many of the points made by A Houghton's letter (Citizen, February 2).

Over the festive period, collection date changes were not advertised, with many people in our street getting confused about what would actually be collected each week.

However, overall I like the new system of wheelie bins and recycling boxes, which is neces-sary in light of Government targets for minimising landfill and helping people reduce their impact on the environment.

I expect recycling will be compulsory for all homes within a few years. Already, I hardly use the grey wheelie bin but the recycling boxes are nearly always full.

On the issue of plastics recycling, I have learned that recycling plastic is almost as polluting as producing it in the first place, partly due to the process involved and to costs like transportation. So my motto is do not buy products in plastic packaging as far as possible.

On the junk mail issue, there is a Mailing Preference Service to write to in order to stop receiving it. Its address is DMA House, 70 Margaret St, London, W1W 8SS. The only junk mail I still receive (except that which arrives with the Citizen) is from my bank.

As for the county council's Vision magazine, I get a few copies and read the first one. The rest go into the recycling box.

B. Newton, Bowerham