Letter: Sacrificial recycling

Sir: Margaret Maxwell ('Boxed in by rubbish', 14 September) only hints at the basic problem with taking one's rubbish to recycling centres. They are usually located in car parks far away from residential areas.

In carrying their waste to the centre by car, most people do more damage to the environment than they can hope to prevent, even if the recycling is itself resource-efficient. Driving to the dump is an updated animal sacrifice; it is long on self-righteousness, but yields few beneficial

effects.

The lesson is surely to remove bottle, can and paper banks from car parks, and start placing them next to cycle lanes and bicycle parking areas. True, most councils would have to create a few of these first. But shouldn't we cycle before we attempt to recycle?

Yours sincerely,

ALAN SHIPMAN

London, NW10

14 September