I AM writing in response to the letters that appeared (Hereford Times, March 26) about the council introducing wheeled bins for recycling.

Heather Broom expresses concern that individual letters were not sent to householders asking them what size bin they would like.

I would like to remind readers that, as a council, we have to be prudent about how we use our resources and we have just been awarded four stars for our use of resources.

We decided to use Herefordshire Matters to tell householders about the changes because the publication is delivered to every household in the county and thus costs a fraction of the price of sending out individual letters.

The choice of bin has also been widely advertised in the local media and on the council’s website with the deadline for requesting a smaller bin also extended to meet public demand.

Concern is also expressed about people having difficulty moving wheeled bins to the collection point and, as the Herefordshire Matters articles and press reports have also made clear, any such people are able to request an assisted collection at no extra charge.

The reason wheeled bins are being used is to make collection easier and allow glass to be included for the first time. Safety concerns would prevent glass from being collected in sacks and the cost of wheeled bins also works out cheaper in the long term.

As regards consultation, Robert Oliver may be interested to know that the council has openly sought comments from the public through a blog, a dedicated email address, the council website and numerous articles in both Herefordshire Matters and the local media.

The council has also received hundreds of requests for smaller bins or assisted collections and many queries have been answered on the council’s website and will also be publicised in the next edition of Herefordshire Matters.

I can only assume the small response rate was because people supported the new scheme, especially the fact that, unlike many other local authorities, we have been able to ensure all households will keep their weekly household refuse collections using sacks.

COUNCILLOR J G JARVIS, Cabinet Member, Environment and Strategic Housing, Herefordshire Council