The village of Skenfrith has a collection of cardboard and newspapers in white plastic sacks and a collection of garden waste in green bags (Green bags are available at £1 each from Handyman House in Monmouth). The collection is on a Monday usually around 10am and a large lorry, not unlike the dustbin lorries, collects the stuff for recycling. There are not many houses on the lane where I live and we were not included in the recycling collection. Then my neighbour and I both contacted the Council - purely by chance - on the same day. Paul Quayle, in charge of that department at the time, was most helpful, said they were extending the collection and that in a week or so we would have a collection. Sure enough, after a few hiccups, the lorry came down our lane and since then, apart from the odd occasion, our piles of newspapers and our garden rubbish have been collected for recycling.

Then I learned that the people who live at Crossways do not appear to be included in this recycling collection. They have asked for the service but have been refused. so far. It seems incredible that the lorry, which must come past some of those houses to get to us, cannot pick up from those few extra houses. I wonder what the explanation is?