Sir, - In response to your series "Sorting out the Rubbish", the reason for our dependency on landfill is a simple economic one. It is the cheapest option. Consequently, any attempts by local authorities or the private sector to provide alternatives are severely handicapped.
In 1998, local authorities spent £80 million on the collection and disposal of waste but collected only £38 million in fees and waste charges. The £42 million shortfall must have come from the Exchequer and been approved by the present Government.
If we wish to have progressive, viable, integrated waste management plans, householders have to be charged the full cost of treating their waste. This has to be put into practice and not left as rhetoric, which is the current situation.
This policy of cheap, subsidised landfill, which is supported by local councillors and tolerated by the present Minister, has to end. - Yours, etc., Frank Donegan,
Quigley's Point, Co Donegal.