IN response to the letter "No Smoke Without Fire" (Tuesday, June 1), Bolton Council would like to reassure readers that the change in service is in response to the recycling targets imposed by Central Government.

Every waste disposal authority in the country has been set targets to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill sites. Failure to meet these targets will result in a fine that will be passed on to the council it serves and then, inevitably, to council tax payers.

Bolton is served by the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and, as part of the Governments waste reduction drive, Bolton must achieve a recycling rate of 20 per cent by March 2006 or face severe financial penalties. Currently, our recycling rate is just 13 per cent

Wigan MBC is a waste collection and disposal authority in its own right and as such they too have also been set statutory waste reduction targets.

Wigan currently have a borough-wide fortnightly paper collection service and are currently in the process of rolling out green bins for green waste and, by July 2005, approximately 40,000 households will have access to this service.

We simply have to stop throwing so much rubbish away.

Landfill is not a long-term solution, or an environmentally friendly way of dealing with our waste.

We are running out of holes to fill, and we can all help by reducing the amount of rubbish we produce, reusing items where possible, and by recycling most of our household waste.

In response to Mr Hollingsworth's final comment, all crews carry a brush and shovel and are required to clear up any accidental spills.

Bolton Council Recycling Team