I do not understand why Eve Osborne feels that the recycling system is so traumatic (Swap the box for a wheelie bin', Times Letters, February 14).

I think it is a brilliant idea and shows great initiative on behalf of both the council and residents who take the time to contribute to a worthwhile procedure.

The 'laudable desire to save the planet', as Ms Osborne words it, is due to the fact that at some point in the future (perhaps not in our time but for the younger generation) we will run out of landfill space and this country will look a lot more untidy than it does at present.

I can't imagine that the average resident has two or three car batteries to dispose of each week and if you have the box emptied on a regular basis there is no need for it to be too heavy or brimming over.

Shirley Bishop

Mays Lane, Barnet