I HAVE recently had the opportunity to look back at past letters regarding the bin situation in the borough.

I find it incomprehensible that we are expected to accept a 50 per cent reduction in our refuse collection service. I for one do not have a garden, because of this I do not have a brown bin or composter, which would in all honesty, be useless. I do however still have the same amount of refuse to be collected as I ever did, so why now am I expected to essentially store waste for a further week?

I saw a situation a few weeks ago where a near neighbour, whose bin was overfull, was transferring some excess waste to another neighbour's bin which wasn't. The ensuing argument between two usually peaceful neighbours was unpleasant to say the least. I can understand the problems of both, but again, I ask why has it come to this.

I have also been victim to this nonsense, I carefully left a full bag of waste on top of my bin for collection, I had no further space in the bin and rather than cram it in, I put it in the best place I could for collection. I was later told that a neighbour had seen a refuse collecter remove the bag from the bin and toss it on to the floor, some of the refuse spilling out in the process.

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't the council trying to reduce the amount of litter on our back alleyways? If so what is the point of issuing decree after decree about waste while committing such flagrant acts of littering?

Maybe it's time for a little civil disobedience, we have a right to weekly refuse collection, we pay for it as we always have, would anyone else be willing to put their bins out, as it used to be so, EVERY week on the former collection day and leave it there until collected, even if that is the following week, and then do the same in the weeks following?

I, for one, would be fascinated to see the council's response to hundreds of wheelie bins being parked on the street or in back alleyways for days on end. Would they have the cheek to give people penalty notice if so many were doing this?

I doubt it, just think of the cost, and the extra paper waste!

TREVOR MENZIES, Richmond Terrace, Darwen.