I'm all for recycling and keeping it simple but what the Tories neglect, in their opposition to the trial being conducted in Berrylands and Alexandra, is the very important role of composting.

While the sceptics delight in claiming that there are too many recycling containers and declare that one would do, they overlook the fact that around a quarter of household waste is kitchen waste which cannot sensibly be mechanically separated from newspapers and glass and therefore should be handled separately. That's why the council has provided containers for dealing with it.

Now, I don't understand why so much food goes into Kingston's dustbins but I know that it shouldn't be sent to landfill.

Yes, a back garden composting bin is the preferred way of dealing with vegetable trimmings but when residents refuse to do that it is reasonable to offer an alternative.

As an environmentalist I should be pleased that the many Conservatives no longer deny the importance of recycling and composting.

It is however sad that the brickbats continue over how it's done.

JONATHAN FRAY Cowper Road Kingston