Sir, - After making every effort to cut down on my use of plastic bags of all types, buying myself proper dustbins and making many public statements on the subject of superfluous plastic bags, I am now being told that I shall in future have to put all my rubbish into enormous plastic bags instead of into my dustbin. Good heavens alive, when we came back from Holland nearly 10 years ago, such bags had already been almost completely banned there and we even had to buy plastic bags from supermarkets if we couldn't be bothered to bring our own.
Now Wicklow County Council is making the use of two large plastic bags per week compulsory for every household in Wicklow. Not only will this increase the amount of waste by several tons of plastic per week, but the plastic itself is non-biodegradable and the refuse contained in it will also no longer be able to decompose. As for the people who dreamt up and approved this scheme, words fail me. - Yours, etc., Dick Barton,
Tinahely, Co Wicklow.