SIR,

Not so long ago we provided our own dustbin, filled it with rubbish, placed it at the roadside and once a week the dustcart came along and emptied it. Then the council decided to 'recycle' and turned a simple task into a monster which is now so inefficient that the dirtiest, smelliest rubbish bags are only collected fortnightly and the number of these are limited.

Rubbish bags and containers stand at the roadside on two or three days a week. The coloured bags are ripped open by dogs and thrown into other people's gardens by drunks. Emptied bags blow along the roads endangering lives. Unfortunately only paper has been fully sorted and other bags still need attention.

Now, instead of one lorry, there is a fleet travelling around the county. All need a crew, fuel, maintenance, licenses, insurance and garage space. Add to this the cost of leaflets and the bags. Also a free shopping bag has been provided. No wonder the council says they cannot afford to collect all the rubbish.  So why do they do it?

Obviously, as we can no longer use black bags, the council must now be employing people to examine the bags. From the contents of your rubbish bags, the rubbish bag police can deduce where you shop and at what time, what you bought, who writes to you, your religion, your political inclinations, medical condition, how many people, dogs and cats are in your house. I could go on.

The contents of your bags present a mirror image of what goes on within the walls of your home. Burglars and con-men have used this practise in the past to their own advantage. For the council to be doing this is an intrusion into private lives just as bad as intercepting emails and private phone calls. Surely the council's actions must be illegal. If not, it should be.

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