Mr Jeffrey, strategic director of environment and leisure at Sutton Council, refers to Sutton having the second highest recycling rate in London when he criticises your story about the wheelie bin fiasco part two.

I wonder whether, when making this claim, the percentage figure for the separate collection of garden waste, which is sent for composting, has been added to

the percentage recycled?

Audit Commission figures for Sutton for 2001/02 are:

waste recycled 12.5 per cent, waste composted 6 per cent and waste sent to landfill sites 81 per cent.

Higher recycling rates were reported for Richmond, Merton, Kingston, Croydon, Bromley, Bexley and Camden.

I trust the council accepts the dual bin waste collection scheme has been a failure and a very expensive one.

Waste management costs have risen by about £5million per year since its introduction.

PETER GLIKIN Address supplied

January 31, 2003 10:30