I AM writing in response to the recent comments made by Cllr Roger Hayes. I am as delighted as he is that Bolton has fared so well in the national ratings on recycling.

The figures that have been produced relate to 2005/06 and, yes, the Lib Dems at that time were in control of Bolton Council.

However, what Cllr Hayes seems to forget is the people of Bolton are the ones to be congratulated regarding this accolade not the Lib Dems and their fortnightly bin collection, which was rejected at the ballot box in May.

Cllr Hayes conveniently forgot that the fortnightly bin collection, that he and his party forced upon people, was not the only reason why the Bolton residents chose to recycle. If they had just given them the equipment to do the job, rather than taking away their service, they may have finished up with a recycling rate of 24.93 per cent or higher.

The Labour Party brought back the weekly grey bin collection service to Bolton, along with more information on recycling and, has seen a rise in the recycling rates up until December.

In December we saw a drop in recycling to 25 per cent, which is the first time it has dropped lower than the figure of 28.16 per cent, which was what the Liberals left us with in April 2006.

We have been able to break down the figures regarding recycling and waste since we took control of the council in May, 2006. This information shows the main reason that the percentages went down in December was because the amount of green waste dropped. It was pleasing to see the other recycling figures were in line with the other months. There was a reduction of residual waste, which goes in your grey bin, so less waste was going to landfill, so this can only be good news. We are now in a position to see these seasonal fluctuations, and councillors are given this information as soon as it comes available.

I would like to thank the people of Bolton for continuing to recycle. If we keep up this good work we should have an improvement on last year's percentages.

The Labour Party in Bolton will listen to the real concerns of residents. We listened and returned the weekly grey bin collection and we have also listened to your problems regarding the current systems for recycling. We are now currently piloting new methods for collecting waste paper/cardboard and also burgundy bins to replace the green boxes.

Elaine Sherrington Executive Member for Waste and Recycling