SIR,

Monmouthshire is a quiet place – it's not often we are in the news. So I actually felt rather proud to live here, when the national news had an item about our new re-cycling efforts.

Apparently we are the first place in the U.K. to introduce the grey bag scheme to limit landfill rubbish. It seems that many local authorities intend to follow our example. Surely everyone must agree that something must be done to limit vast tracts of our beautiful planet being filled with our noxious rubbish?

I also note that the scheme still has a human face. I pick up litter both from the riverside and the Vauxhall and the waste collectors were quite happy to take away my filled orange MCC litter bag without query.

Finally, how efficiently the scheme has been introduced. I purchased permits for some brown garden waste bags. One was faulty and when I telephoned to report this, a replacement arrived about three hours later – remarkable!

I also noted that the scheme was introduced in a very professional way. I thought the strong shopping bag in which all the plastic bags arrived was a real bonus. Well that's what I think. Local government comes in for so much criticism, rightly and justifiably usually, so I have enjoyed writing something positive for once.

Michael Mortimer

(Monmouth)