Sir, - I have recently returned to Ireland having spent several years living in Berlin, Germany. I am shocked to see how backward we are in environmental matters, recycling in particular. In Germany, a nation of 80 million souls, every household religiously separates its refuse into paper, plastic, bottled, tinned and even bio-degradable waste. Every household then has the opportunity to dispose of this waste so that it may be recycled.
It pains me to throw all of my assorted waste into one black plastic refuse sack to join the other millions which end their lives in landfill sites. Surely it is not beyond our wit or resources to improve the situation. - Yours, etc.,
Liam O'Brien, Belgrave Square East, Monkstown, Co Dublin.