Someone said what a waste of money. I say no it is not. Here is why.

I have started working for a company that sub-contracts for a local council. I myself am a lorry driver so I took on the job as a driver/loader which means I go out and drive the lorry and empty waste bins.

I think it would be wonderful for our local council to send out DVDs letting people know what and what not to put in as I have seen so much contamination of bins.

For example, people putting dirty soiled nappies, glass bottles, and even food items in with recycled waste, which should be paper, plastic bottles and tin cans.

Recycled waste is sorted out by hand in the recycling depot so I don’t think they would like to handle glass and soiled nappies. When I see the contamination I have to reject these bins but often we cannot see it all as it is hidden.

I did not think being a bin man was hard but I have learned rules of health and safety, not just for the crew but also for the public.

I have learned that if a load is contaminated it will be rejected at the cost of whom? Yes, the taxpayer via their rates so they will pay twice. Here is how it works.

You pay to clear the waste to take to be recycled.

If it is rejected it has to be loaded on to a lorry again and tipped on the landfill site at a cost of the landfill owners, which is passed on to the sub-contractor who passes it back to the local council which puts the budget up for next year.

So all I can say is think before you throw the wrong things into your bin.

You can put the following into your recycling bin: aluminium cans, aluminium foil, mixed cans, steel cans, steel tins, books, card, junk mail, magazines, newspapers, paper, phone directories, plastic bottles (with the lids off so they not only crush in the bin but also on the lorry).

TIM WRIGHT

Cherry Tree Road

Great Cornard