Simon Wright, of Aller Brake Road, Newton Abbot, writes:

The high cost of compostable liners for the kitchen and food waste caddy liners has become a hot topic of conversation in Teignbridge. The cheapest I’ve found work out at 6p and 25p each respectively. Two kitchen caddy liners a week works out at £6.24 a year or one food caddy liner a week works out at £13 a year. A notable amount of money to have to spend when you consider the negligible monetary and environmental value of the food waste we are separating for recycling.

How I long for the good old days of integrating my food waste with my garden waste with no need for caddies full of smelly, rotting food. Lining the food waste caddy with a 5p carrier bag and dumping that in with the black bin landfill waste would only cost £2.60 a year but would obviously incur the wrath of the recycling police.

While the debate about recycling rumbles on it can’t be ignored that a number of areas of Newton Abbot have many more waste items scattered along its gutters and verges, notably plastic bottles and food containers. We have had some breezy weather recently but while every new system will have teething problems, I do hope that Teignbridge Council accept that this is happening and look into the side effect of increasing the amount we all put out for recycling is that a disappointing amount isn’t making its way back to the recycling centre and many residential streets are now looking decidedly scruffy.

Teignbridge residents want to live in a nice environment but the plastic rubbish being blown out of the recycling boxes to line the streets isn’t helping.