Sir,

Dr. Owen, in an area of outstanding natural beauty, what an eyesore wheelie bins would be and maybe a health and safety risk.

Those of us who don't have gardens may have to keep them on the streets permanently, and even when kept in front gardens they do not enhance the quality of our daily life or our neighbourhoods.

Our local coloured bag collection seems to be very efficient and may be quite cost effective. If you are concerned about the environment and the energy used to produce and then dispose of plastic, then perhaps the coloured bags can be made the same as the biodegradable food bags. Also perhaps you could give some comparative figures, such as how does the plastic bag problem compare with the environmental impact of manufacturing and eventually disposing of your bicycle or your computer or your car etc.

Unfortunately, everything we have comes at a cost to the planet. Perhaps we should concentrate on effective solutions to the more difficult/ important bigger issues first.

K Roberts

(Monmouth)